I feel it in my bones: a rare presentation of idiopathic sclerosing orbital inflammation with hyperostosis

Our plain-English summary of I feel it in my bones: a rare presentation of idiopathic sclerosing orbital inflammation with hyperostosis, by S.T. Ho, M. Lakey, B. Crawford, et al (Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology, 2013).

The study

• Authors: S.T. Ho, M. Lakey, B. Crawford, P.J. Daroca, A.A. Valenzuela
• Journal: Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology
• Published: 2013;41(3):304-5
• Type of article: Case report, Letter
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This letter to the editor, from Tulane University in New Orleans, reported a single case: an 80-year-old African American man who had eye-socket pain, double vision and a bulging left eye for several months. A CT scan showed an ill-defined mass in the left eye socket and thickening of part of the sphenoid bone. During surgery to biopsy the mass, the surgeons found a thick, overgrown (hyperostotic) segment of that bone. Tissue examination showed idiopathic sclerosing orbital inflammation, a rare scarring inflammatory condition of the eye socket. Because of his age and the bone overgrowth, doctors also looked for a hidden cancer. A chest X-ray showed fluid around the lung (a pleural effusion), which turned out to be an advanced mesothelioma. Treatment for the eye-socket inflammation was not started, and the patient died 3 months later from his cancer. The authors concluded that the bone overgrowth was likely caused by the inflammation rather than the cancer, and that a search for hidden cancer should be considered in this presentation. The article did not mention asbestos or any exposure history.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: case report (letter to the editor)
• Who was studied: one 80-year-old African American man, reported by authors at Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; dates of care not given
• Main results:
  • During surgery, a thick, overgrown (hyperostotic) segment of the left greater wing of the sphenoid bone was found
  • Tissue examination of the orbital lesion showed the typical features of idiopathic sclerosing orbital inflammation (ISOI)
  • Bone sections showed changes suggestive of osteitis (bone inflammation)
  • A work-up for hidden cancer found a pleural effusion on chest X-ray that turned out to be an advanced mesothelioma
  • Treatment for ISOI was not started, and the patient died 3 months later from his cancer
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the bone growth was likely caused by the inflammation of ISOI rather than the malignancy, and that with this presentation a concurrent work-up for hidden (occult) malignancy should be considered

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Idiopathic, Inflammation.

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