Acute Haemorrhagic Oedema of Infancy (AHOI): A Case Report

Acute haemorrhagic oedema of infancy (AHOI) is a benign variant of leukocytoclastic vasculitis which occurs in children up to 2 years of age. It is considered by some to be a variant of Henoch-Schönlein purpura with its hallmark of prominent facial swelling, purpuric rash without visceral involvement, in an otherwise well child. This condition is well recognised in the paediatric and dermatology literature but despite its impressive facial features, often mimicking more serious pathology like orbital cellulitis, to our knowledge AHOI has not been published in the Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery literature. We present a case of AHOI to raise awareness of this condition in maxillofacial surgery to avoid it being mis- or over-diagnosed.