Angiolymphoid Hyperplasia With Eosinophilia Associated With Pregnancy: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Abstract A case of angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia (ALH) is reported in a 33-year-old woman who developed an auricular nodule during the second trimester of her pregnancy. Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia usually occurs on the head and neck of young adults and is more common in women than in men. Characteristic histologic features of ALH present in this case included proliferation of thick-walled blood vessels lined by prominent endothelial cells, infiltration of the interstitium by chronic inflammatory cells (mainly eosinophils), and presence of lymphoid follicles with germinal centers. The auricular tumor was completely excised. Thirteen months after excision, the patient remains tumor free. Although there are not many case reports on ALH during pregnancy or involving use of oral contraceptive pills, sex hormones may play a role in the pathogenesis of ALH. This hypothesis, in the context of cases previously described in the literature, and the differential diagnosis of ALH are discussed.