Granuloma, Pyogenic
Basics
Description
- Pyogenic granulomas (PG) are benign vascular proliferations that appear most commonly on the skin and mucus membranes. Most common sites are the head and neck, the lips and oral cavity, the trunk, and the extremities (1),(2).
- Described as rapidly growing erythematous to violaceous nodules that develop into pedunculated masses with erosive surface that are friable and tend to bleed profusely due to the vascular nature of the lesion
- Less commonly presents as a sessile lesion
- Rarely regress completely without intervention (2)
- Synonym(s): lobular capillary hemangioma, granuloma telangiectaticum, granuloma gravidarum
Epidemiology
- The peak incidence of PG occurs in children and young adults (2).
- Commonly seen in early pregnancy
- Conflicting evidence from prior studies regarding male or female predominance; overall, seems to have a male predominance in childhood through adolescence and female predominance during reproductive years before the age of 40 years
Prevalence
Etiology and Pathophysiology
- Definitive cause unknown
- Thought to be associated with capillary proliferation resulting from aberrant healing response to minor trauma
- Associated with peripheral nerve injury, inflammatory systemic diseases, and drugs (retinoids, systemic steroids, protease inhibitors, epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors)
- May be related to hormonal changes in pregnancy
- Not considered a hemangioma or neoplasm; no true granulomatous histology present
Risk Factors
- Pregnancy
- Trauma
- Intraoral trauma or surgery
- Inflammatory systemic diseases
- Medications such as retinoids, systemic steroids, protease inhibitors, epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors
General Prevention
Good oral hygiene may be helpful.
Commonly Associated Conditions
Inflammatory systemic diseases
There's more to see -- the rest of this topic is available only to subscribers.
Citation
Domino, Frank J., et al., editors. "Granuloma, Pyogenic." 5-Minute Clinical Consult, 33rd ed., Wolters Kluwer, 2025. Medicine Central, im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/1688721/all/Granuloma__Pyogenic.
Granuloma, Pyogenic. In: Domino FJF, Baldor RAR, Golding JJ, et al, eds. 5-Minute Clinical Consult. Wolters Kluwer; 2025. https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/1688721/all/Granuloma__Pyogenic. Accessed October 10, 2024.
Granuloma, Pyogenic. (2025). In Domino, F. J., Baldor, R. A., Golding, J., & Stephens, M. B. (Eds.), 5-Minute Clinical Consult (33rd ed.). Wolters Kluwer. https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/1688721/all/Granuloma__Pyogenic
Granuloma, Pyogenic [Internet]. In: Domino FJF, Baldor RAR, Golding JJ, Stephens MBM, editors. 5-Minute Clinical Consult. Wolters Kluwer; 2025. [cited 2024 October 10]. Available from: https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/1688721/all/Granuloma__Pyogenic.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC
T1 - Granuloma, Pyogenic
ID - 1688721
ED - Domino,Frank J,
ED - Baldor,Robert A,
ED - Golding,Jeremy,
ED - Stephens,Mark B,
BT - 5-Minute Clinical Consult, Updating
UR - https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/1688721/all/Granuloma__Pyogenic
PB - Wolters Kluwer
ET - 33
DB - Medicine Central
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -