Fatal systemic cytophagic histiocytic panniculitis: a histopathologic and immunohistochemical study of multiple organ sites.

The presence of hemocytophagic histiocytosis within subcutaneous tissue has been termed "cytophagic histiocytic panniculitis" (CHP). CHP may occur as a feature of hematopoietic malignancies or infections, particularly viral. In some patients with CHP, an underlying illness cannot be identified. We describe a young man with a rapidly fatal systemic illness characterized by CHP. Lymphoma was not present, and an infectious agent could not be identified. Immunohistochemical stains of tissue obtained at autopsy from multiple organ sites confirmed the presence of histiocytes and T lymphocytes within adipose tissue.