Abstract
Background A 54-year-old man presented with fever, abdominal pain, anemia, elevated C-reactive protein level and decreased renal function. Idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis (Ormond's disease) had been diagnosed in the past, leading to surgical ureterolysis. Re-evaluation of the CT scans and histological biopsy samples revealed unusual sclerosis of the long bones and diffuse infiltrates of foamy histiocytes in the bone marrow and the retroperitoneum.
Investigations Physical examination, laboratory tests including hemoglobin concentration, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein level, β2-microglobulin level, creatinine level, CT of the chest and abdomen, bone scintigraphy, bone marrow and soft tissue biopsies and immunohistochemistry.
Diagnosis Erdheim–Chester disease with retroperitoneal fibrosis and bone sclerosis.
Management Treatment with glucocorticoids failed. The patient's symptoms improved significantly after initiation of interferon-α therapy.
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Acknowledgements
K Loddenkemper and B Hoyer contributed equally to this work.
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Loddenkemper, K., Hoyer, B., Loddenkemper, C. et al. A case of Erdheim–Chester disease initially mistaken for Ormond's disease. Nat Rev Rheumatol 4, 50–55 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncprheum0677
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncprheum0677
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