Lupus panniculitis: Clinicopathological features of a series of 12 patients

Lupus panniculitis (LP) is a rare variant of chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus, which diagnosis requires clinicopathological correlation, especially in those patients without any other manifestation of lupus erythematosus (LE). According to the phase when the biopsy is performed, histological findings can be non-specific. Few series have been published to date. Hence, we report our own experience in the diagnosis and management of this disease.

We conducted a retrospective descriptive clinicopathological study of 12 patients diagnosed in our centre.

All the patients had painful and recurrent plaques and/or nodules, with a predilection for proximal extremities, face and scalp. Histopathologic examination showed mostly lobular panniculitis and lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate. For the diagnosis, we also considered the coexistence of other clinical manifestations of LE as well as the expression of CD123 by immunohistochemistry. In 3 patients, LP was the first manifestation of LE.

The diagnosis of LP can be difficult. The presence of other clinical and/or histological manifestations of LE along with immunohistochemistry techniques could help in the differential diagnosis with other panniculitis.