Incidence and radiological pattern of eosinophilic granuloma: a retrospective study in a Chinese tertiary hospital

• Published in: Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research 2019-05, Vol.14 (1), p.123-123, Article 123
• Main Authors: Zhao, Sha-Sha, Yan, Lin-Feng, Feng, Xiu-Long, Du, Pang, Chen, Bao-Ying, Dong, Wen-Ting, Gao, Yi, He, Jie-Bing, Cui, Guang-Bin, Wang, Wen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age composition; Biochemical markers; Biological markers; Biopsy; Blood; Bone tumors; Cancer; CAT scans; Child; Child, Preschool; China - epidemiology; Chinese; Cohort Studies; Computed tomography; Diagnosis; Diagnostic imaging; Eosinophilic granuloma; Eosinophilic Granuloma - diagnostic imaging; Eosinophilic Granuloma - epidemiology; Female; Granuloma; Granulomas; Histochemistry; Humans; Incidence; Infant; Langerhans cell histiocytosis; Leukocytes (eosinophilic); Magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Medical imaging; Middle Aged; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Orthopedics; Pain; Patients; Population; Radiography; Radiology; Retrospective Studies; Statistics; Studies; Surgery; Tertiary Care Centers; Tomography; Tomography, X-Ray Computed - methods; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1749-799X; 1749-799X
• DOI: 10.1186/s13018-019-1158-1

The incidence and radiological patterns of eosinophilic granuloma (EG) in China is not clear. We described the incidence, presentation, and imaging characteristics of Chinese EG patients in a tertiary hospital. A retrospective chart review was performed from January 2004 to October 2017 at a single tertiary general hospital. Seventy-six patients were pathologically identified as EG. Besides, 60 patients with preoperative imaging diagnosis of "EG" were analyzed to reveal the radiological patterns and their diagnostic power. Fifty-three male and 23 female EG patients with a mean age of 18.1 ± 16.7 years (range 1-58 years) were retrospectively included. Significant differences were observed in gender (male to female = 2.3:1) and age (the highest incidence at the age of 0~5 years) for EG. EG predominantly involved the skeletal system: flat bones (31.43%) > irregular bones (24.76%) > long bones (22.86%) > other organs (20.95%). No obvious relationships between season, biochemical markers, and EG incidence were observed. The common presenting symptoms were pain followed with local mass, and most patients underwent surgical resection. Among 60 imagingly diagnosed "EG" patients from April 2009 to October 2017, only 22 were with histological confirmation. The correct diagnosis rates were 37.1% (13 out of 35), 16.7% (5 out of 30), and 22.2% (8 out of 36) for plain radiography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), respectively. Chinese EG has a varied presentation, age distribution, and gender difference. EG diagnosis is still based on biopsy or histopathology instead of imaging techniques.