[Eosinophilic ulceration of the tongue].
BACKGROUND
Eosinophilic ulceration of the tongue is a classic condition little reported in the literature. We describe a case in a patient taking nicorandil.


METHODS
An 84-year-old patient consulted for an ulceration of the tongue which had progressed for 5 months. The ulcer was very painful and the patient had lost 2.5 kg. The patient had been taking nicorandil at the dose of 10 mg/d for a year. Biopsies of the tongue ulcer confirmed the diagnosis of eosinophilic ulceration. Immunohistochemistry determined predominantly T-cell infiltration. Search for Epstein-Barr virus was negative. The ulcer completely regressed within one month without withdrawal of nicorandil.


CONCLUSIONS
This was a typical case of eosinophilic ulceration of the tongue, both from the point of view of the clinical expression and the histological findings. A nicorandil-induced ulcer was ruled out on clinical (low daily dose, delay to onset) and histological arguments as well as the spontaneous regression without drug withdrawal. Nicorandil may have played a role in the abnormally long duration of the ulceration.
Laveau
F
F
Service de Dermatologie, Hôpital Caremeau, CHU, 30029 Nîmes Cedex 4.
Chapuis
H
H
Dandurand
M
M
Guillot
B
B
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D004802:Eosinophilia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019226:Oral Ulcer / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D012075:Remission, Spontaneous; D014059:Tongue / Q000473:pathology; D014060:Tongue Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology