Clinical case of the month: a 22-year-old man with AIDS presenting with shortness of breath and an oral lesion

J La State Med Soc. 2014 Sep-Oct;166(5):224-30. Epub 2014 Oct 12.

Abstract

Since the development of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), the incidence and mortality associated with Kaposi sarcoma (KS) have been reduced, although not eliminated. Clinical presentations of KS range from simple skin involvement to disseminated disease, including involvement of the oral cavity and viscera, which portends a more ominous prognosis. Multiple case reports and data from clinical trials indicate that administration of systemic corticosteroids may aggravate KS. We present a case of disseminated KS following administration of prednisone for presumed immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) associated with fungal pneumonia in an HIV-infected individual. The discussion that follows outlines the pathophysiology and clinical presentations associated with KS and existing data for the role of corticosteroids in promoting KS progression.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome* / complications
  • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome* / drug therapy
  • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome* / pathology
  • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome* / physiopathology
  • Adult
  • Humans
  • Lung Diseases, Fungal* / drug therapy
  • Lung Diseases, Fungal* / etiology
  • Lung Diseases, Fungal* / pathology
  • Lung Diseases, Fungal* / physiopathology
  • Male
  • Mouth Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Mouth Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Mouth Neoplasms* / physiopathology
  • Pneumonia* / drug therapy
  • Pneumonia* / etiology
  • Pneumonia* / pathology
  • Pneumonia* / physiopathology
  • Sarcoma, Kaposi* / drug therapy
  • Sarcoma, Kaposi* / pathology
  • Sarcoma, Kaposi* / physiopathology