[Pseudolymphomatous facial folliculitis in a child: hypochromic appearance]

The entity called pseudolymphomatous folliculitis (PLF) is a cutaneous pseudolymphoma. We report a new case of PLF with an atypical clinical presentation.

A 6-year-old child was examined for an asymptomatic, hypochromic lesion of the face progressing for three months. The histology showed the activated pilosebaceous units with characteristic perifollicular infiltration by T-cells associated with dendritic cells expressing CD1a and protein S100. The outcome was spontaneously favourable. All of the foregoing elements supported a diagnosis of PLF.

PLF is defined as a clinical-pathological entity among the cutaneous pseudolymphomas. The usual clinical aspect is that of a solitary red-to-violaceous asymptomatic nodule measuring less than 1.5cm in diameter. Histology shows follicular invasion characterized by lymphocytic infiltration into pilosebaceous units, creating architectural distortion; this infiltration is associated to perifollicular dendritic cells expressing CD1a and protein S100. We report this new case of PLF because of its peculiar clinical presentation. However, FPL remains a controversial entity, since the follicular location of the pseudolymphomatous lymphocytic infiltration seems poorly specific in facial lesions.