A case of Langerhans cell histiocytosis in an infant with eyelid swelling initially attributed to a blow to the face

Abstract

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) has been referred to as Histiocytosis X in the past and divided into Letterer-Siwe disease, Hand-Schüller-Christian disease, or an acidophile-related granuloma, depending on the condition; however, all of these entities are now considered LCH. This disease has characteristics of both a neoplastic disease and inflammatory disease. As LCH causes organization injury to various organs, the symptom lasts for fever, exanthem, intractable otitis media, hearing loss, many divergences including the bone ache. In the nose and throat area in particular, lesions on the cranial facial bone except for the canopy part is the central nerve risk lesion, which can result in complications affecting the central nervous systeme. We herein report a case of eyelid swelling in which a blow to the face was initially suspected, but a diagnosis of Langerhans histiocytosis was ultimately made by a biopsy of the front part of the ethmoid sinus; remission was achieved with chemotherapy.