Adult-Onset Asthma With Periocular Xanthogranuloma: Clinical-Histological Correlation.

Abstract

A 48-year-old male presented with 10 years of gradually enlarging yellow eyelid lesions. Past medical history was notable for adult-onset asthma diagnosed 5 years ago. He denied pain, diplopia, bone/joint pain, or systemic findings such as weight loss or fatigue. His father had similar eyelid lesions. Preoperative photograph demonstrated bilateral upper eyelid yellowish lesions with prominent edema and tissue expansion inducing bilateral ptosis (Fig. 1A). MRI demonstrated eyelid inflammation, enlargement of the extraocular muscles, especially the right lateral rectus (Fig. 1B, white arrow), and enlargement and enhancement of lacrimal gland (Fig. 1C, black arrow). He desired debulking excisional biopsies with bilateral blepharoplasty. Intraoperative photos show significant soft tissue inflammatory infiltration, particularly the lacrimal gland (Fig. 1D, red arrows).FIG. 1.Histopathologically, xanthogranulomatous inflammation is characterized by diffuse inflammatory infiltrate composed of histiocytes and lymphocytes (Fig. 2A, H&E, 100×). Specifically, the presence of foamy macrophages (Fig. 2B, H&E, 400×, red arrows) and Touton Giant cells (Fig. 2C, H&E, 400×, black arrow) are the histological hallmarks of the disease. The differential diagnosis of xanthogranulomatous inflammation includes adult-onset xanthogranuloma, adult-onset asthma with periocular xanthogranuloma (AAPOX), Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD), necrobiotic xanthogranuloma (NBX), and juvenile xanthogranuloma.FIG. 2.The patient was diagnosed with AAPOX given the association with adult-onset asthma. While the vast majority of yellow eyelid lesions are clinically benign, ECD and NBX are must-not-miss diagnoses, given their potential life-threatening systemic manifestations. These include vital organ (heart/kidney/lung) involvement in ECD, and association with serum protein abnormalities and hematological malignancies in NBX.