Auricular cutaneous leishmaniosis: molecular pathologic diagnosis of a in Middle Europe rare infectious disease

Introduction:

Leishmaniasis is divided into a cutaneous and visceral subform and is endemic to Middle Eastern, North African, and Mediterranean regions. Transmitted by the sandfly, humans here form an intermediate host for the Leishmania.

Methods:

We report a case in which six years ago a stabbing event in the Middle East led to the formation of an inflammatory altered, smoothly limited mass in the area of the antitragus. By anamnesis the patient reported a lancing event with a sandfly. The tumor-like lesion was completely excised and the resected specimen examined pathologically and by molecular pathology.

Result:

A high-grade, chronic as well as partially moderately florid erosive inflammation was found in the superficial and deeper dermis layers with associated histiocytic granulomatous reaction. In individual histiocytes pathogens could be detected, molecular pathology succeeded in the genome detection of Leishmania species.

Conclusion:

Migration movements in North Africa and the Middle East confront the ENT surgeon with atypical infectious diseases for Central Europe. Targeted anamnesis as well as specialized pathological examination methods can be purposeful here.

Publication History

Publication Date:
23 April 2019 (online)