Oral Erosive/Ulcerative Lichen Planus in a 3 Years Old Child: A Case Report

Aim: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown etiology. It mainly affects middle-aged adults, while its occurrence in childhood is rare. The aim of this paper is to present a rare case of erosive/ulcerative OLP in a 3 years old girl, who presented with chronic ulcers on the tongue.

Presentation of Case: A 3 years old girl presented to an Oral Medicine clinic, due to a history of chronic erosive/ulcerative lesions on the tongue causing mild discomfort while feeding. According to the mother, the lesions were first noticed two years ago with periods of remission and exacerbation. The medical history was unremarkable, and no other lesions on the skin or elsewhere were observed. Clinically, diffuse ulcerations and erosions were present on the dorsal surface and the lateral borders of the tongue. A diagnostic biopsy was performed under general anesthesia and histopathological examination with direct immunofluorescence revealed findings compatible with erosive/ulcerative OLP.

Discussion: The occurrence of OLP in childhood is particularly rare with few published cases in the literature. Nonetheless, OLP should be included in the differential diagnosis of chronic ulcerative lesions of the oral mucosa in children.

Conclusion: Accurate diagnosis and discrimination from other, also rare in childhood, vesiculobullous/ulcerative mucocutaneous diseases with oral involvement requires evaluation of the histopathologic and immunophenotypic features and careful clinicopathologic correlation.