A case report of Erdheim-Chester disease-clinically characterized by recurrent fever, multiple bone destruction, and antinuclear antibodies

• Published in: Heliyon 2023, Vol.9 (8), p.e18867-e18867
• Main Authors: Gao, Zhong-En, Li, Jing-Jing, Sheng, Kang, Liu, Rui, Fan, Feng, Zhou, La-Mei, Zhang, Hao, Hao, Dong-Lin
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2405-8440; 2405-8440
• DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18867

BackgroundErdheim-Chester disease is a form of histiocytosis. It is an extremely rare illness. Since its discovery, hundreds of cases of this disease have been identified across the globe. Pathologically, the condition is characterized by proliferation of lipid-rich foam-like tissue cells, which is especially prevalent in bones. Approximately 50% of patients develop infiltration into organs other than the bones. Case descriptionA patient with fever and bone pain is described in this case report. After visiting multiple hospitals and departments, undergoning battery of investigations, and ruling out other diseases, the patient was pathologically diagnosed with Erdheim-Chester disease after a biopsy of the associated bone destruction. The condition improved with symptomatic therapy. ConclusionNumerous clinical symptoms make non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis challenging to diagnose and requires pathological diagnosis. Patients with unexplained multiple bone destruction must be alert against this disease from a clinical standpoint.