Bilateral choanal stenosis in auriculocondylar syndrome caused by a PLCB4 variant

Auriculocondylar syndrome (ARCND) is characterized by a distinguished feature of question mark ears and a variation of other minor and major malformations. Monoallelic or biallelic PLCB4 variants have been reported in a subset of affected individuals, referred to as ARCND2. We report on a 3-year-old female with ARCND who presented at birth with question mark ears, micrognathia, and bilateral choanal stenosis that was characterized by difficulty in breathing. She was found to be heterozygous for a novel PLCB4 variant, p.Glu358Gly. Respiratory distress is rare in autosomal dominant ARCND2 and choanal stenosis has not been reported. Our study expands the clinical phenotype of ARCND by adding choanal stenosis as a finding and suggests that PLCB4 play a role in the development of choanal structures.