Ateneo
Ateneo
Ateneo
n e w e ng l a n d j o u r na l
of
m e dic i n e
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511
The
n e w e ng l a n d j o u r na l
that time. Six months before presentation, a tuberculin skin test had been positive. The patient
did not know whether she had received immunization with bacille CalmetteGurin (BCG) vaccine
in the past. Prophylaxis with isoniazid was recommended, but she declined. She had lost 7 kg
in weight during the previous 2 months because
of discomfort associated with eating and swallowing food. She lived with her husband and young
children, attended school, and worked in sales.
She did not smoke, drink alcohol, or use illicit
drugs. She reported having no contacts with anyone who was sick and had not drunk unpasteurized milk or traveled recently. She was taking no
other medications and had no allergies. On examination, the submandibular glands were tender,
firm, and enlarged (3 to 4 cm in diameter). There
was no cervical, axillary, or inguinal lymphadenopathy. The remainder of the examination was
normal.
The results of a complete blood count were
normal, as were serum levels of electrolytes, calcium, glucose, total protein, albumin, bilirubin,
immunoglobulins, and angiotensin-converting enzyme. Test results for renal and liver function and
a urinalysis were also normal. Findings for the
EpsteinBarr virus and cytomegalovirus were consistent with past infection; a test for hepatitis B
surface antibody was also positive, but a test for
antigen was negative, as were test for human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis C virus, brucella,
and syphilis. A chest radiograph was also normal.
Magnetic resonance imaging of the neck, performed without the administration of contrast
material, revealed small, nonspecific cervical
lymph nodes. The submandibular glands were
prominent, with no focal masses. A 10-day course
of penicillin was administered.
Twelve days later, the patient was seen in the
oral and maxillofacial surgery clinic. There was
moderate generalized plaque-induced gingivitis
and periodontitis, and two lower molars were
impacted. No purulent discharge was noted on
milking the salivary glands. A panoramic radiograph showed no dental decay or bony abnormalities. Amoxicillinclavulanic acid was administered
for 2 weeks.
Two weeks later, the patient was seen in the
rheumatology clinic. She reported thirst, xerostomia, dry eyes, vaginal dryness, mild hair loss,
and weight loss of 10 kg. She did not have joint
pain, weakness, alopecia, photosensitivity, ma512
of
m e dic i n e
Differ en t i a l Di agnosis
Dr. Stone: This previously healthy 26-year-old woman from Morocco presented with a 4-month history of thirst and submandibular-gland enlargement on both sides of the neck (Fig. 1). May we
review the imaging studies?
Dr. Paul A. Caruso: CT of the neck after the
administration of contrast material shows largely symmetric enlargement and prominent enhancement of the submandibular glands (Fig. 2A) and
the sublingual glands, more on the right than on
the left (Fig. 2B). Both parotid glands, although
normal in size, were enhanced prominently. The
scan showed no discrete mass, sialolith, sialodo-
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AUTHOR Stone
FIGURE 1
RETAKE
1st
2nd
3rd
CASE ductal
TITLE dilatation, adjacent phlegmon,
cholith,
abRevised
EMail
4-Cor periodontal
Line
scess,Enon
cyst, significant periapical
SIZE
ARTIST: mst
H/T
H/T
disease,
16p6 glands
FILL or lymphadenopathy.
ComboThe lacrimal
were not included
in the
scan.
AUTHOR,
PLEASE
NOTE:
Figure has
been redrawn
andpatient
type has been
Dr. Stone:
I cared
for this
andreset.
am aware
Please check carefully.
of her diagnosis. Her case is no exception to the
rule that
diagnoses
JOB: many
ISSUE: 7-30-09
36105 interesting differential
in medicine require consideration of infectious,
malignant, and immunologic causes. I will consider the most likely diagnoses within each of
these categories.
Infectious Diseases
The major focus of the infectious disease evaluation was the exclusion of tuberculosis specifically, mycobacterial cervical lymphadenitis. Lymphadenitis is the most common clinical manifestation
of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. However, aside
from weight loss, which appeared to have other
explanations, the patient had no constitutional
symptoms, particularly fever. In addition, the imaging studies localized the abnormality to the submandibular glands rather than to lymph nodes,
and specimens from two fine-needle aspirations
failed to show any evidence of granulomatous inflammation or acid-fast bacilli.
Other infectious disease considerations in the
context of submandibular-gland enlargement are
bacterial, viral, and fungal infections. Infections
of dental origin and infection of the tonsils are
the most common causes for submandibular
lymph-node enlargements. However, such infections are highly symptomatic and would not have
remained subclinical for weeks. Other infections,
4-C
Line
Enon
ARTIST: mst
H/T
H/T
Combo
such FILL
as infectious mononucleosis,
cat
Revised
SIZE
16p6
scratch
disAUTHOR,
PLEASE
NOTE: may produce
ease, and hepatitis
C virus
infection,
Figure has been redrawn and type has been reset.
painless submandibular-gland
enlargement, as can
Please check carefully.
mycoses, particularly those caused by actinomyISSUE: 7-30-09
ces. IJOB:
will 36105
assume that the thorough
assessment
for infectious disease constituted a true negative evaluation and that infection was not the
cause of swelling in the patients neck.
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513
The
n e w e ng l a n d j o u r na l
Neoplastic Diseases
514
of
m e dic i n e
The patients epidemiologic profile fits the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus, as this disorder tends to afflict young women. It commonly
causes lymphadenopathy and can be associated
with salivary-gland enlargement in the presence
of Sjgrens syndrome, but disproportionate swelling of the submandibular glands as compared with
other salivary glands is not typical. A thorough review of systems related to rheumatic disease did
not reveal other common clinical features of systemic lupus erythematosus. The patient did not
have alopecia, oral ulcers, rash, photosensitivity,
Raynauds phenomenon, arthralgias, or a history
of pregnancy losses. The complete blood count
did not show leukopenia, lymphopenia, or thrombocytopenia, all hallmarks of systemic lupus erythematosus. She had antinuclear antibodies in
her serum, but the titer was low (1:160) and antibody assays more specific for systemic lupus erythematosus were negative. She had hypocomplementemia, which is often associated with the
consumption of immune complexes, but the low
levels of complement proteins C3 and C4 are not
specific for systemic lupus erythematosus.
Sjgrens Syndrome
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the disproportionate enlargement of the submandibular glands, and one would be left with the
nagging concern about a possibility of MALT lymphoma. Similarly, chronic sclerosing sialadenitis
can be distinguished from malignant tumors only
by means of histopathologic examination. Thus,
the next step in the diagnosis involved more extensive sampling of the submandibular gland. In
cases such as this, otolaryngologists typically remove the entire gland.
Cl inic a l Di agnosis
Sjgrens syndrome or chronic sclerosing sialadenitis (Kttners tumor); lymphoma must be
ruled out.
Sjgrens syndrome, chronic sclerosing sialadenitis, and MALT lymphoma are all reasonable diagnostic possibilities in this case. A lip biopsy, which
would allow examination of minor salivary glands,
might reveal lymphoepithelial lesions compatible
with Sjgrens syndrome.6 However, this explanation would remain less than satisfactory given
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515
The
n e w e ng l a n d j o u r na l
of
m e dic i n e
ARTIST: mst
H/T
Combo
H/T
SIZE
33p9
516
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the pancreas, biliary tree, kidneys, or retroperitoneum. When no such lesions were identified, we
decided against instituting treatment at that time,
Autoimmune pancreatitis
and the patient concurred.
Sclerosing cholangitis
Nine months after the operation, the patient
Chronic sclerosing sialadenitis (Kttners tumor)
returned
to the rheumatology clinic reporting
Riedels thyroiditis
tenderness
of the right submandibular gland
Retroperitoneal fibrosis
and
pain
in
the right ear, but no dry mouth or
Lymphoplasmacytic aortitis
increased
thirst.
On examination, the submanLacrimal gland enlargement
dibular
gland
had
enlarged slightly and was tenDacryocystitis
der.
We
elected
to
treat
the patient with 40 mg of
Pseudotumors of the lung, kidney, and orbit
oral prednisone per day for 2 weeks, which led to
prompt resolution of her pain. The serum IgG4
IgG4-associated systemic disease, with both auto- level remained normal. The dose of prednisone
immune pancreatitis and involvement of the sali- was tapered, and the drug was discontinued after
vary glands.
3 months; her symptoms have not recurred.
By the time of our patients first postoperative
visit, the remaining submandibular gland had deA nat omic a l Di agnosis
creased in size and was less tender. Such spontaneous improvement has been reported in auto- Chronic sclerosing sialadenitis (IgG4-associated
immune pancreatitis and other components of chronic sclerosing sialadenitis, Kttners tumor).
Dr. Stone reports receiving consulting fees from Merck and
IgG4-associated systemic disease.23 We performed
Stryker; and Dr. Deshpande, receiving consulting fees from Noa CT scan of the abdomen to exclude the possi- vartis. No other potential conflict of interest relevant to this arbility that there were any subclinical lesions of ticle was reported.
Table 1. Conditions That May Be Associated with IgG4Related Systemic Disease.
References
1. Weber RS, Byers RM, Petit B, Wolf P,
Ang K, Luna M. Submandibular gland tumors: adverse histologic factors and therapeutic implications. Arch Otolaryngol
Head Neck Surg 1990;116:1055-60.
2. Rapidis AD, Stavrianos S, Lagogiannis G, Faratzis G. Tumors of the submandibular gland: clinicopathologic analysis
of 23 patients. J Oral Maxillofac Surg
2004;62:1203-8.
3. Ferry JA. Extranodal lymphoma. Arch
Pathol Lab Med 2008;132:565-78.
4. Theander E, Henriksson G, Ljungberg
O, Mandl T, Manthorpe R, Jacobsson LT.
Lymphoma and other malignancies in primary Sjgrens syndrome: a cohort study
on cancer incidence and lymphoma predictors. Ann Rheum Dis 2006;65:796-803.
5. Fox RI. Sjgrens syndrome. Lancet
2005;366:321-31.
6. Daniels TE. Benign lymphoepithelial
lesion and Sjgrens syndrome. In: Ellis
GL, Auclair PL, Gnepp DR, ed. Surgical
pathology of the salivary glands. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders, 1991:83-106.
7. Mikulicz J. Concerning a peculiar
symmetrical disease of the lachrymal and
salivary glands. Berliner Klin Wochenschrift 1937;759:165-86.
8. Morgan WS, Castleman B. A clinicopathologic study of Mikuliczs disease.
Am J Pathol 1953;29:471-503.
9. Bloch KJ, Buchanan WW, Wohl MJ,
Bunim JJ. Sjoegrens syndrome: a clinical,
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