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  • Conjunctival actinic granuloma may be associated with allergy and atopy

    Cornea/External Disease

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    Review of: Actinic granuloma of the conjunctiva: Case series and review of the literature

    Magan T, Rapuano C, Ayres B, et al. American Journal of Ophthalmology, September 2021

    This retrospective, observational, series study looked for cases of actinic granuloma of the conjunctiva in patient records covering a 6-year period to discover its clinical manifestations and histopathologic features.

    Study design

    Institutional pathology records between 2014 and 2020 were searched for all cases of conjunctival actinic granuloma. Eight eyes of 8 patients were identified.

    Outcomes

    Histopathologically, actinic granuloma was associated with pterygium (n = 6, 75%) and pinguecula (n = 2, 25%). All lesions comprised predominantly histiocytes and a variable number of foreign body–type giant cells associated with a focus of severe actinic elastosis. The inflammatory pattern was giant cell (n = 4, 50%), sarcoidal (n = 2, 25%), histiocytic (n = 1, 13%), and combined histiocytic and sarcoidal (n = 1, 13%).

    Limitations

    None.

    Clinical significance

    Conjunctival actinic granuloma has diverse clinical and histopathologic manifestations, which need to be distinguished from other autoimmune, neoplastic, and infectious etiologies. This lesion frequently occurs in pre-existing pterygium and pinguecula and may be associated with allergy and atopy.