ABSTRACT
Pfeifer-Weber-Christian's panniculitis is a rare syndrome characterized by fever, arthralgias, fatigue and recurrent nodular panniculitis. It has been associated with pancreatic diseases, trauma, connective tissue diseases, alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, systemic lupus erythematosus, infections, lymphoproliferative diseases and neoplasias. We report the case of a 43-year-old obese male patient who presented with asthenia, arthralgias, intermittent fever, skin erythema and a large hard-elastic tumor of the right calf. Laboratory analysis revealed increased values of the immunophlogosis parameters and positivity for serum antinuclear antibodies. Surgical drainage of the abscess-like tumor mass, revealed leakage of a sterile, subflavious, oily and thick liquid; a skin biopsy showed intra and perivascular infiltration by neutrophils, diagnostic for leukocytoclastic vasculitis. Treatment with prednisone induced clinical improvement and normalization of the laboratory data. The clinical picture, laboratory data and efficacy of prednisone therapy confirmed that the patient developed Pfeifer-Weber-Christian's panniculitis in the clinical setting of an antinuclear antibody-positive leukocytoclastic vasculitis.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Antinuclear/analysis , Panniculitis, Nodular Nonsuppurative/etiology , Vasculitis, Leukocytoclastic, Cutaneous/complications , Adult , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/administration & dosage , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/therapeutic use , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Obesity/complications , Panniculitis, Nodular Nonsuppurative/diagnosis , Prednisone/administration & dosage , Prednisone/therapeutic use , Time Factors , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , Vasculitis, Leukocytoclastic, Cutaneous/diagnosis , Vasculitis, Leukocytoclastic, Cutaneous/drug therapy , Vasculitis, Leukocytoclastic, Cutaneous/etiology , Vasculitis, Leukocytoclastic, Cutaneous/immunologyABSTRACT
Primary angiosarcoma of the breast is a rare entity. The absence of clinical and instrumental features is a fundamental concept in the context of diseases of the breast. Currently, the most extensively used surgical procedure is simple mastectomy with removal of the fascia of the pectoralis major muscle. A 45-year-old woman presenting this lesion is described here, with particular reference to the cytomorphological findings.
