CASE REPORT article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Disorders : Autoimmune Disorders
This article is part of the Research TopicNew Insights into Inflammation Driven Autoimmune Skin Disorders: Trends and ChallengesView all 27 articles
Case report: a 69-year-old woman with dermatopathic lymphadenopathy and hypercalcemia after the COVID-19 infection
Provisionally accepted
- Beijing Chaoyang Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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Abstract Patient concerns: A 69-year-old female following COVID-19 infection presented with hypercalcemia, recurrent fever and lymphadenectasis. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET-CT) revealed no suspicious malignancy. Lymph node biopsy from bilateral inguinal areas suggested Langerhans cell histiocytosishypoplasia, supporting a possible diagnosis of dermatopathic lymphadenitis or rare Langerhans cell histiocytosishyperplasia. The immunohistology staining showed the proliferated Langerhans plasma cells in lymph node expressed CD68, CD1a, and S100 and CD1a, further supporting the diagnosis of dermatopathic lymphadenitis. Diagnosis and intervention: The patient was diagnosed as dermatopathic lymphadenopathy. The patient underwent therapy of prednisone acetate, 30mg per day. Then the glucocorticoid was gradually decreased by 2.5mg per 2 weeks until 7.5mg per day. Salmon calcitonin was subcutaneously injected to decrease the calcium level and relieve pain during hospitalization. Outcomes: During the 3 months' treatment, the systemic symptoms were significantly alleviated. The lymph nodes of right inguinal area and the serum calcium decreased to normal. she remained in remission for an additional four years. Lessons: Coexistence of the two unrelated diseases, dermatopathic lymphadenopathy and hypercalcemia was rare. Immune dysregulation and persistent inflammatory responses post COVID-19 infection may be the potential mechanism for hypercalcemia.
Keywords: COVID-19 infection, Dermatopathic lymphadenopathy, Hypercalcemia, immune dysfunction, Inflammation
Received: 09 Sep 2025; Accepted: 10 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Danli, Shen and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yanchun Li
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