Mucocutaneous manifestations of disseminated histoplasmosis in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: particular aspects in a Latin-American population.

BACKGROUND: Mucocutaneous lesions in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with disseminated histoplasmosis have a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, making its diagnosis difficult. Studies have been restricted to case reports and series with small numbers of patients not specifically focusing on the dermatological aspects of histoplasmosis. AIMS: To describe the characteristics of mucocutaneous lesions of disseminated histoplasmosis in HIV-infected patients. METHODS: A retrospective and prospective study was conducted on 36 HIV-infected patients with mucocutaneous histoplasmosis in a tertiary-care hospital in Brazil. RESULTS: Mucocutaneous histoplasmosis was diagnosed by histopathology in 33 of the 36 patients (91%) and/or culture in 23 (64%). Their CD4+ cell counts ranged from 2 to 103 cells/mm(3). The average number of different morphological types of lesions was three per patient. Despite the variability of the lesions, papules (50%), crusted papules (64%) and oral mucosal erosions and/or ulcers (58%) were the most frequent dermatological lesions. A diffuse pattern of distribution of the skin lesions was found in 58% of the cases. There was significant association between the CD4+ cell counts and the morphological variability of lesions per patient. Variation in the lesions seemed to be associated with higher CD4+ cell counts. CONCLUSION: Doctors caring for HIV-infected patients should be aware of the wide spectrum of dermatological lesions observed in disseminated histoplasmosis and the importance of detecting and isolating the fungus in mucocutaneous tissues.

[Cutaneous Crohn disease]. / Doença de Crohn cutânea.

The term "metastatic" Crohn's disease is used to define the cutaneous lesions, distant from the gastrointestinal tract and separated from other ulcerations by normal skin, showing granulomatous histology. A case of Crohn's disease with metastatic ulcerations of the vulva, perineum, submammary folds, groins and abdominal fold is presented. In the literature only 26 similar cases were found. Cutaneous manifestations associated to Crohn's disease, its classification and treatment are commented. The excellent response of our case to metronidazole is stressed.

Farmacodermias num hospital geral de Porto Alegre. / Skin diseases induced by drugs in a general hospital of Porto Alegre

E feito um levantamento de 26.025 pacientes internados em hospital geral, no periodo de 1/12/81 a 1/08/83. Neste periodo foram solicitadas 690 consultorias ao Servico de Dermatologia e diagnosticados 85 casos de farmacodermias. As reacoes cutaneas a drogas foram mais comuns em mulheres e na faixa etaria acima dos 40 anos.As drogas mais comumente implicadas foram a ampicilina e a pirazolona, sendo feita correlacao com os quadros clinicos mais comuns que surgiram