Cutaneous Pseudolymphoma As a Rare Adverse Effect of Medicinal Leech Therapy: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Hirudotherapy (leech therapy) is one of the oldest practices in medical history, and nowadays it is used for several purposes in medicine. Salvage of flaps, wound healing, pain management, and treatment of varicose veins are among the common therapeutic applications of leeches. Complications associa...

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Published inCurēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 12; no. 4; p. e7517
Main Authors Sepaskhah, Mozhdeh, Yazdanpanah, Nazafarin, Sari Aslani, Fatemeh, Akbarzadeh Jahromi, Mojgan
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Cureus Inc 02.04.2020
Cureus
Subjects
Arthropods
Back pain
Biopsy
Case reports
Cryotherapy
Dermatology
Erythema
Fibromyalgia
Hematoma
Histopathology
Lymphocytes
Medical personnel
Pathology
Pruritus
leeching
reactive lymphoid hyperplasia
pseudolymphoma
leeches
adverse effects
skin
hirudo medicinalis
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Summary:Hirudotherapy (leech therapy) is one of the oldest practices in medical history, and nowadays it is used for several purposes in medicine. Salvage of flaps, wound healing, pain management, and treatment of varicose veins are among the common therapeutic applications of leeches. Complications associated with leech therapy include infections, bleeding, anemia, and allergic reaction. Cutaneous pseudolymphoma (benign proliferation of lymphoid cells in the skin) follows several underlying conditions. Although persistent arthropod bite reaction is one of the conditions associated with cutaneous pseudolymphoma, it has been rarely reported after medicinal leech therapy. Here we describe the case of a patient who presented with cutaneous pseudolymphoma after leech therapy as a rare cutaneous complication of hirudotherapy.
ISSN:2168-8184
2168-8184
DOI:10.7759/cureus.7517