Hold the spice: Allergy to garlic and sulfites—Possible relevance in a patient with cheilitis granulomatosa

Cheilitis: A Diagnostic Algorithm and Review of Underlying Etiologies

Cheilitis, or inflammation of the lips, is a common reason for dermatologic consultation. The inflammation can include the vermillion lip, vermillion border, and surrounding skin, and can present with an acute or chronic course. There are many etiologies, including irritant and allergic contact dermatitis, atopic cheilitis, actinic cheilitis, infectious etiologies, nutritional deficiencies, drug-induced cheilitis, and rare etiologies, including granulomatous cheilitis, cheilitis glandularis, plasma cell cheilitis, lupus cheilitis, and exfoliative cheilitis. Distinguishing among the various etiologies of cheilitis is clinically difficult, as many causes may produce similar erythema and superficial desquamation of mucosal skin. In addition, patients report dryness, redness, irritation, burning, fissuring, and itch in many of the underlying causes. Thus, the specific etiology of cheilitis is often difficult to diagnose, requiring extensive testing and treatment trials. In this review, we summarize the various types of cheilitis, synthesizing novel cases, clinical presentations, histopathology, epidemiology, and advancements in diagnostic methods and therapeutics. We provide a diagnostic algorithm aimed to assist clinicians in the management of cheilitis.

Patch testing with sodium disulfite: North American Contact Dermatitis Group experience, 2017 to 2018

BACKGROUND

Sodium disulfite (SD), also known as sodium metabisulfite, is an increasingly recognized cause of allergic contact dermatitis.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this work was to characterize individuals with positive patch test reactions to SD as well as analyse reaction strength, clinical relevance, and sources.

METHODS

This is a retrospective analysis of patients patch tested with SD (1% petrolatum) by the North American Contact Dermatitis Group (NACDG), 2017 to 2018.

RESULTS

Of 4885 patients patch tested with SD, 132 (2.7%) had a positive reaction. Common primary anatomic sites of dermatitis were face (28.8%), hands (20.5%), and a scattered/generalized distribution (13.6%). Compared with SD-negative patients, SD-positive patients were more likely male (odds ratio 2.81, 95% confidence interval 1.98-4.00) and/or over 40 years (odds ratio 1.95, 95% confidence interval 1.30-2.94). Reactions were most commonly + (50.4%) or ++ (34.1%); 65.2% were considered currently relevant. About 15.2% were definitively confirmed in sources, commonly personal care products (18.9%, especially hair dye), and drugs/medications/alcoholic beverages (9.1%). Only 2.3% of positive reactions were linked to occupation.

CONCLUSIONS

Positive reactions to SD occurred in 2.7% of tested patients. Reactions were often clinically relevant and linked to personal care products and drugs/medications/alcoholic beverages.

A severe case of cheilitis granulomatosa: clinical-pathologic findings and management

INTRODUCTION

Cheilitis granulomatosa is an idiopathic granulomatous disorder which is rare and cosmetically disturbing. It presents with a persistent painless labial swelling which obscure etiology. Diagnosis is mainly based on the histopathological features following biopsy. There is no definitive treatment of this disease, reason being its lack of well-defined etiology. It has been proven largely resistant to most of the treatment options.

CASE DESCRIPTION

A 28-year-old man presented with the labial swelling which was confirmed to be cheilitis granulomatosa following histopathologic examination. We have successfully managed this case using intralesional steroids.

CONCLUSION

Intralesional steroids can be used successfully in management of cheilitis granulomatosa.

Contact Allergy-Emerging Allergens and Public Health Impact

Contact allergy (sensitisation) and allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) resulting from it have a considerable public health impact. For the present review, all pertinent articles were systematically searched via Medline and Web of Science™; additionally, all available issues of the journals "Contact Dermatitis" and "Dermatitis" were manually searched, covering the years 2018-2019, thereby extending and re-focusing a previous similar review. New allergens, or previously described allergens found in a new exposure context or of other current importance, are described in sections according to substance classes, e.g., metals, preservatives, fragrances. As a common finding in many investigations, a lack of information on product composition has been noted, for instance, regarding a newly described allergen in canvas shoes (dimethylthiocarbamylbenzothiazole sulfide) and, most notably, absence of co-operation from manufacturers of glucose-monitoring devices and insulin pumps, respectively. These latter devices have been shown to cause severe ACD in a considerable number of diabetic patients caused by the liberation of isobornyl acrylate and N,N'-dimethylacrylamide, respectively, as demonstrated by an international collaboration between dermatologists and chemists. Improved and complete ingredient labelling for all types of products, and not just cosmetics, must be put on the legislative agenda.

Unsuccessful Treatment of Cheilitis Granulomatosa with Oral Methotrexate

Cheilitis granulomatosa (CG) is a rare idiopathic condition with painless lip swelling, characterized by non-necrotizing granulomatous inflammation in the absence of other identifiable causes such as Crohn's disease, sarcoidosis, foreign body reaction, or infection. CG may precede the presentation of Crohn's disease after long-term follow-up. Spontaneous remission of CG rarely occurs. To date, given the rarity of CG, there is no gold standard treatment. Recommended treatments are supported by small studies, case reports/series, and expert opinions. Glucocorticoids are the first-line therapy in the acute stages of the disease; however, recurrence commonly occurs. Previously, methotrexate (MTX) showed a beneficial effect on orofacial swelling in a case of CG accompanied by Crohn's disease. We present a patient with CG without Crohn's disease. He was treated with oral MTX in combination with intralesional corticosteroid injection on one side of the lip. The injected side showed improvement, while lip swelling on the noninjected area remained unchanged after 3 months of treatment. Therefore, CG is refractory to treatment with MTX from our experience. Further studies regarding the optimum dosage of MTX is needed.