Eosinophilic granuloma of bone: diagnosis and management

Fifty patients with eosinophilic granuloma of bone were reviewed. Thirty-one lesions were in the head and neck, 24 in the extremities, seven in the pelvis, and five in the ribs. The lesions were lytic with ill-defined margins, endosteal erosion, and solid periosteal reaction. The diagnoses were obtained by surgical biopsy in 36 patients and by percutaneous biopsy in 14. Twenty-six lesions were treated with radiotherapy, 14 by surgery, and nine by surgery and radiotherapy. The last 14 cases have been treated by percutaneous injection of methylprednisolone sodium succinate into the lesion. Healing was obtained in every lesion. There were no complications.