Clinical characteristics of multicentric reticulohistiocytosis and distinguished features from rheumatoid arthritis: a single-center experience in China

To investigate the clinical features of multicentric reticulohistiocytosis (MRH). The clinical manifestations, laboratory examination results and histologic characteristics of eleven patients with MRH were collected and compared with those of 33 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. In total, 72.7% of the MRH patients were women. The median age was 46 years (range 33-84 years). Diagnosed by specific pathologic features, all MRH patients exhibited cutaneous involvement. The dorsa of the hands, arms, face and auricle were the most commonly affected areas. Nodules were also located on the legs, scalp, trunk, neck, and even the hypoglossis and buccal mucosa. Ten MRH patients (90.9%) had symmetric polyarthritis. Compared with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, MRH patients were more likely to have distal interphalangeal joint (DIP) involvement (63.6% vs 24.2%, P = 0.017) and less likely to have elbow (36.4% vs 72.7%, P = 0.003), ankle (45.5% vs 93.9%, P