Cutaneous sarcoidosis at insulin injection sites

Periorbital Silicone Granulomatosis 30 Years after Acupuncture

Silicone-based compounds are commonly used in many medical applications, such as coatings for needles and syringes. Foreign body granulomas are a well-recognized complication of silicone exposure; however, they may be challenging to identify without a clear history. A 61-year-old female patient without prior history of periocular injections, filler, or surgery presented to our oculoplastic clinic with multiple periocular lesions. The patient subsequently underwent excisional biopsy of two prominent lesions, which were identified as granulomas on pathology. Further questioning revealed the cause to be facial acupuncture performed decades prior, and a subsequent targeted exam identified additional lesions at other needling sites. A third lesion was subsequently excised, and there was no recurrence at the last follow-up 3 months postsurgery. Acupuncture is an increasingly common but underrecognized source of silicone exposure and can present up to several decades after exposure as a chronic granulomatous response in a characteristic multifocal pattern.

Cutaneous sarcoidosis

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Cutaneous sarcoidosis occurs in up to 30% of patients with sarcoidosis and skin findings are often the initial presenting symptom. Cutaneous sarcoidosis is a rare skin disease and many aspects of the disease presentation and treatment are not well understood. This review will highlight developments in the epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis and treatment of cutaneous sarcoidosis over the past several years.

RECENT FINDINGS

Epidemiological studies from several different populations reaffirm that cutaneous sarcoidosis is more common in women and is often the presenting symptom of systemic sarcoidosis. Recently, more cases are being reported in association with oncologic immune modulators, which will be of great interest as use of those agents increases. Also, ultrasound has shown promise for the imaging of cutaneous granulomas for disease assessment and measuring response to treatment. Finally, the treatment of cutaneous sarcoidosis remains difficult and is based largely on retrospective data with a paucity of large, prospective trials. There have been recently introduced and validated cutaneous scoring tools which show promise and may lead to more high-quality studies going forward.

SUMMARY

The recent developments in cutaneous sarcoidosis have identified many new pharmacologic and physical triggers of disease, but the evidence for effective treatment is still lacking. Further research is necessary to improve the care of patients with cutaneous sarcoidosis.