Disseminated cutaneous histoplasmosis in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus

Abstract

Despite the clinicopathological spectrum of DCH and the attendant host immunocompromise, timely and appropriate treatment of DCH may be lifesaving and allows rapid healing of skin lesions. A high index of clinical suspicion and skin biopsies and culture are crucial for accurate diagnosis.

African Immigrant with Weight Loss and Disseminated Skin Lesions

“…The outcome for disseminated African histoplasmosis in HIV-positive patients has been poor thus far [10]. Our experience demonstrates that, even in these cases, remission is possible, if early diagnosis is followed by adequate antimycotic therapy.…”

Histoplasmosis in the nasal septum without pulmonary involvement in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: case report and literature review

“…1 Thus, the diagnosis may take a long time to be established, and sometimes the treatment cannot be implemented in time. [1][2][3][4] This was the case with our patient: only after his death was the definitive diagnosis of histoplasmosis made from the biopsy material that had been taken from his nasal septum during his hospitalization.…”

“…10 Therefore, our objective in presenting this case was to draw attention to the diagnosis of histoplasmosis among patients with skin lesions alone, in the absence of pulmonary involvement, because such cases can also evolve very rapidly to systemic infection, multiple organ failure and death, especially among patients with AIDS. [2][3][4][5][6][7] We performed a search in the relevant databases (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; Embase Biomedical Answers; Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde; and United States National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health) for nasal septum and histoplasmosis, and the results are presented in Table 1.…”

“…[2][3][4] Due to the small size of the fungal tissue (2-4 μm in diameter), and its similarity with other elements of yeast and other fungal structures, the definitive diagnosis of histoplasmosis is achieved by isolating the fungus in cultures. 1 Thus, the diagnosis may take a long time to be established, and sometimes the treatment cannot be implemented in time.…”

Carbohydrate-rich high-molecular-mass antigens are strongly recognized during experimental Histoplasma capsulatum infection

“…Most cases are asymptomatically or self-limited to the lungs, due to an effective host defense linked to the cellular immune response. However, fungal replication can be reactivated from latent foci if the integrity of the host's immune system is impaired 1,[4][5][6] . Experimental histoplasmosis allows a better understanding of the disease in humans.…”