Chaker M B, Cockerell C J
Department of Pathology (Division of Dermatopathology), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.
J Am Acad Dermatol. 1993 Aug;29(2 Pt 2):311-3. doi: 10.1016/0190-9622(93)70183-t.
Cutaneous involvement with disseminated histoplasmosis occasionally occurs in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. We describe a profoundly immunocompromised patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who had concomitant psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis, and disseminated histoplasmosis, each with similar features. Findings of a skin biopsy specimen from a lesion on the forehead showed an infiltrate of histiocytes filled with Histoplasma capsulatum. In disseminated histoplasmosis involving the skin, lesions may have features more characteristic of a papulosquamous dermatosis than an infectious disease. In patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus, especially those with low numbers of CD4+ cells, serious infectious diseases may have unusual features and may assume the appearance of concomitant inflammatory diseases.