Abstract: 【Abstract】 A 65-year-old male patient, who had a history of chronic lymphocytic leukemia for 3 years, presented with erythematous swelling of the right cheek for 20 days and scattered papules on the back and upper extremities for 10 days. Twenty days prior to the presentation, the patient was hospitalized for disseminated herpes zoster. Skin examination showed diffuse dark red swollen plaques in the facial area under the right eyelid as well as on the right auricle and external acoustic meatus, with a sense of infiltration on palpation; scattered brown crusts were left behind at the sites of healed herpes zoster lesions, and scattered depressed scars were observed among these crusts; scattered infiltrative, mung bean- to soybean-sized, light red papules with a smooth surface were seen on the back of the neck, back and upper limbs. Histopathological examination of the facial skin lesions revealed nodular infiltration of epithelioid cells, lymphocytes and many multinucleated giant cells in the dermis and subcutaneous adipose tissue; immunohistochemical staining showed positive staining for CD68, CD20, CD79a, CD3, CD2, CD10, CD5 and Bcl-2, scattered positive staining for Ki-67, and negative staining for CD23, cyclin D1, Bcl-6, multiple myeloma oncogene 1, CD21, CD35 and myeloperoxidase. The patient was diagnosed with Wolf′s isotopic response manifesting as granulomatous inflammation after disseminated herpes zoster. The patient was treated with intravenous drips of methylprednisolone at a dose of 40 mg/d, and the skin lesions were gradually improved and subsided. No recurrence was observed during 4 years of follow-up.

Key words: Herpes zoster, Isotopic response, Granulomatous inflammation