High CD4 count and bone marrow infiltration in untreated hiv-associated Kaposi sarcoma: A case report and literature review

Abstract

Bone marrow infiltration by Kaposi sarcoma (KS) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients is rare, with only a few cases reported in patients with a CD4 count greater than 200 cells/ml. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of bone marrow involvement in HIV-associated KS in which the CD4 count is greater than 400 cells/ml. In this article, we present a patient with HIV-associated KS with skin, lymph node, bone, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, and bone marrow involvement despite a high CD4 count. This is the highest CD4 count associated with bone marrow invasion in the medical literature. A high CD4 count does not protect untreated HIV patients against aggressive, diffuse KS-related lesions, including bone marrow infiltration.

Keywords

• Kaposi sarcoma
• Human immunodeficiency virus
• Lytic bone lesions
• Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
• Immune thrombocytopenic purpura
• Autoimmune hemolytic anemia