Bilateral swelling of the salivary glands and sicca symptoms: an unusual differential diagnosis—Kimura’s disease, a rare allergic condition with a high IgE serum level—a case report and review of the literature

Abstract

A 68-year-old woman presented with bilateral swelling of the salivary glands, sicca symptoms of eyes and mouth, itching, fatigue and weight gain of about 5 kg in the last 2–3 years. As part of a careful diagnostic work up including lab tests for antinuclear antibodies (ANA), antibodies to extractable nuclear antigens (ENA), anti-neutrophilic cytoplasmatic antiobodies (ANCA), immunoglobulin (Ig)G4, a whole body computed tomography (CT) and a parotid biopsy several rheumatic diseases such as Sjoegren’s syndrome, IgG4-related disease and sarcoidosis were ruled out and, considering a very high titre of IgE, Kimura’s disease was diagnosed. The case and a short review of the literature are presented.