Slowly evolving Kaposi’s sarcoma in a patient newly diagnosed with HIV infection

Abstract

Introduction. Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a multicentric vascular neoplasia typically occurring in the context of immunodeficiency. Although the incidence of HIV-related KS has dramatically decreased and the prognosis improved due to the combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), KS remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality among people living with HIV. Case presentation. We describe the case of a-34-year-old patient from an urban area, who is admitted in the Dermatology Clinic from Emergency Clinical County Hospital Craiova reporting a 3-years history of painful infiltrated plaques on the left hand, in the groin area and on the left lower limb. Among the biological investigations ELISA test-HIV1,2 is performed, with a positive result so the patient is transferred to the HIV/ AIDS Department - „Victor Babes“ Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases and Pneumoftiziology Craiova. The patient underwent treatment with: antiretrovirals, antibiotics, antifungals, anticoagulants, vasodilators and symptomatic drugs. During hospitalization, the patient also developed violaceous lesions in the oral cavity, on the right foot and on the left ear lobe. Skin biopsy was performed and the histopathological examination confirmed the clinical suspicion of KS. The oncological treatment was initiated after about 2 months and the evolution of the patient has been favorable, with remission of mucocutaneous lesions more than 50%. Conclusions. Persistent skin lesions in a young patient can be an indicator marker for AIDS and the delayed HIV diagnosis may influence the prognosis.

Keywords

• kaposi’s sarcoma
• hiv
• antiretroviral therapy