Clinical Retrospective Analysis of 243 Patients with Rhinofacial Ulcers

PURPOSE: The clinical and pathological data of patients with rhinofacial ulcers were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed to lay the foundation for standardized clinical treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data, etiology, pathological features, treatment methods, and prognosis of 243 patients with rhinofacial ulcers treated in the Departments of Otorhinolaryngology and Dermatology at six hospitals in Shandong Province, China from July 2014 to October 2021. The clinical characteristics and treatment methods of the rhinofacial ulcers were summarized to provide a basis for standardizing patients’ diagnosis and treatment. RESULTS: The male-to-female ratio of the 243 patients was 2.04:1, and their ages ranged from 25 to 91 years. The most common sites were the cheek, nasal dorsum, and upper lip. The common primary diseases were basal-cell carcinoma, squamous-cell carcinoma, and odontogenic fistula, but rare triggers played important roles in some cases, such as infection, autoimmune diseases, and adverse drug reactions. Surgical treatment was feasible for tumor ulcers; 71 patients with basal-cell carcinoma and 50 with squamous-cell carcinoma were treated with Mohs micrographic surgery. During the follow-up period of 1–84 months, most of the rhinofacial ulcers were cured, while natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, angiosarcoma, and melanoma were important causes of death. CONCLUSION: Various causes may lead to rhinofacial skin ulcers, and some cases lacking specificity of clinical manifestations are easily misdiagnosed in clinical practice. Histopathological biopsy is valuable for confirming the diagnosis, after which correct etiological treatment is very important.