Clinicopathologic Correlation and Routine Immunostains Help Distinguish Congenital Disseminated Pyogenic Granuloma From Other Cutaneous Disseminated Vascular Proliferations of Infancy: Case Report and Literature Review

The presence of multiple cutaneous vascular lesions in infancy can signal the possibility of visceral involvement. Dermatopathologists must appreciate how the differential diagnosis includes entities that have distinct therapeutic and prognostic implications. Fortunately, these rare entities can be distinguished histopathologically with the help of clinicopathologic correlation and immunohistochemistry. In this article, we discuss congenital disseminated pyogenic granuloma, multifocal infantile hemangioma, and multifocal lymphangioendotheliomatosis with thrombocytopenia. Subtle morphologic and immunophenotypic features permit their distinction, which in turn is important for identifying extracutaneous manifestations and effective treatments. We present a case of a 3-week-old infant with congenital disseminated pyogenic granuloma involving the skin and the liver whose lesions regressed without therapeutic intervention over 6 months of close follow-up. We review the literature on these rare, overlapping entities and present an approach to resolving the differential diagnosis.