Discussion
Diagnosis With Brief Discussion
- Diagnosis
- Erdheim-Chester disease
- Radiologic Findings
- Posteroanterior chest radiograph shows diffuse reticular interstitial thickening throughout both lungs and bilateral pleural effusion. Chest CT scans show presence of periaortic infiltration extending from aortic arch to abdominal aorta, bilateral perirenal infiltration, and pericardial effusion.
- Brief Review
- Erdheim-Chester disease is a rare form of non-Langerhans histiocytosis of unknown etiology. Erdheim-Chester disease is characterized by tissue infiltration by foamy histiocytes (xanthogranulomatosis) with immunohistochemical characteristics different from those of Langerhans cell histiocytosis.
Erdheim-Chester disease is characterized by heterogeneous systemic manifestations. Bone pain is the most frequent symptom. Bone involvement consists of symmetric osteosclerosis of the long tubular bones, predominating in the metaphysic and diaphysis of the lower limbs. About half of all patients have extraskeletal manifestations including exophthalmos, diabetes insipidus, xanthelasma, interstitial lung disease, bilateral adrenal enlargement, retroperitoneal fibrosis with perirenal and/or ureteral obstruction, renal impairment, testis infiltration, central nervous system, and/or cardiovascular involvement.
Symmetric and bilateral peri- and pararenal soft-tissue infiltration (hairy kidney) extending to the adrenal glands and renal pedicles or circumferential periaortic infiltration from the aortic arch to the primary iliac artery origin (coated aorta) or both are suggestive of Erdheim-Chester disease. The periaortic infiltration may extend to the ascending aorta, coronary arteries, and aortic branches, with risk of vascular stenosis. Infiltration of the pulmonary arteries, superior vena cava, pericardium, and myocardium may also occur. When pulmonary involvement is present, a constellation of CT findings is commonly suggestive of the diagnosis.
There is no proven therapy, although variable success with interferon-alpha and chemotherapeutic agents have been reported. Average survival periods reported 32 months.
- References
- 1. Devouassoux G, Lantuejoul S, Chatelain P, et al. Erdheim-Chester disease: a primary macrophage cell disorder. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1998; 157:650-653
2. Shamburek RD, Brewer HB, Jr., Gochuico BR. Erdheim-Chester disease: a rare multisystem histiocytic disorder associated with interstitial lung disease. Am J Med Sci 2001; 321:66-75
3. Murray D, Marshall M, England E, et al. Erdheim-chester disease. Clin Radiol 2001; 56:481-484
4. Braiteh F, Boxrud C, Esmaeli B, et al. Successful treatment of Erdheim-Chester disease, a non-Langerhans-cell histiocytosis, with interferon-alpha. Blood 2005; 106:2992-2994
5. Haroche J, Amoura Z, Trad SG, et al. Variability in the efficacy of interferon-alpha in Erdheim-Chester disease by patient and site of involvement: results in eight patients. Arthritis Rheum 2006; 54:3330-3336
- Keywords
- multiple, lymphoproliferative disease,