Mucormycosis and cutaneous histoplasmosis in a renal transplant recipient.

Mucormycosis of the palate developed in a 31-year-old man while he was undergoing immunosuppression with prednisone and azathioprine after renal transplantation. The infection was excised and did not recur. Ten years later, while still receiving immunosuppressive therapy, cutaneous histoplasmosis of the fingers developed, which was treated successfully with intravenous amphotericin B. The occurrence of mucormycosis and histoplasmosis in this man emphasizes the need to suspect uncommon infections when unusual skin lesions occur in an immunosuppressed patient.

Oral lesions in Thai heterosexual AIDS patients: a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVE: To study the types of oral lesions in Thai heterosexual AIDS patients. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study and single centre. SETTING: Medical ward of the Prince of Songkla University Hospital, Thailand, from June 1994 to May 1995. SUBJECTS: Heterosexual AIDS patients who had been admitted because of opportunistic infections and/or neoplasms. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Types of oral lesions, opportunistic systemic diseases present and drugs in use, as well as the lymphocyte count, were recorded in each patient. Mycological investigations by the oral rinse technique were also performed. RESULTS: 41 patients were examined (32 male, 9 female; aged 19-53 years, median 29 years). Oral lesions were found in 35 (85%) patients as follows: oral candidiasis (31), hairy leukoplakia (3), aphthous ulcer (3), linear gingival erythema (2), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (2) and histoplasmosis (2). CANDIDA ALBICANS: was isolated in 31 patients. There was correlation between the clinical signs of oral candidiasis and the colony-forming units of Candida (Mann-Whitney U test; two-tailed P = 0.0007). CONCLUSIONS: Oral candidiasis was the most common lesion. It is of interest that non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was the only neoplasm detected. We conclude that oral lesions among Thai heterosexual AIDS patients may differ from those in other countries.

Oral Manifestations Associated to Paracoccidioidomicosis and Histoplasmosis

Objective: To determine the frequency and clinical forms of oral manifestations associated to Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) and Histoplasmosis. Material and Methods: 481 medical records of outpatients referred to the Medical Mycology Department were reviewed since 2009 to 2016. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods. Results: 47 (9.77%) cases had oral manifestations, 29 (61.70%) were associated to PCM and 18 (38.29%) to histoplasmosis. For PCM, male-female ratio was 8:1 and 1:1 for histoplasmosis. The average age for PCM was 48 years old and 53 for histoplasmosis. All the PCM patients had more than 1 oral structure affected: 44.82% were gingival lesions and 27.58% palate. In patients with histoplasmosis, 6 (33.33%) were lesions affecting palate and 6 (33.33%) involving tongue. For both entities, painful ulcers and granulomatous-like lesions were the most prevalent clinical forms; however, we observed a wide range of other oral manifestations. Regarding PCM patient's comorbidities, 3 (10.34%) cases had HIV/AIDS, 8 (27.58%) histoplasmosis and 2 (6.89%) carcinomas. Whereas the comorbidities of patients with histoplasmosis, 2 (11.11%) had HIV/AIDS and 1 (5.55%) had carcinoma. Conclusion: In endemic countries for both mycoses, dentists must be aware of patients with mouth lesions, take advantage of epidemiologic clues that suggest risk factors and be acquainted with all the current diagnostic tests in order to make a quick diagnosis and treatment in highly suspicious cases.

Protective effect of poly-2-vinylpyridine-N-oxide on susceptibility of silica-treated mice to experimental histoplasmosis.

We have studied the ability of poly-2-vinylpyridine-N-oxide (PVNO), a lysosomal stabilizing agent, to abrogate the cytotoxic effects of silica on macrophages. Male C3H/HeN mice were pretreated with PVNO and inoculated intravenously with silica particles. At 24 h after silica injection, silica-treated and -untreated mice were challenged intravenously with varying doses of live yeast cells of Histoplasma capsulatum. All mice receiving silica died when challenged with 5 X 10(5) yeast cells of Histoplasma sp. compared with no deaths in PVNO-pretreated animals and 10% mortality in controls not receiving PVNO or silica. When animals were given 2.5 X 10(5) yeast cells (a sublethal dose), the protective effect of PVNO was seen by a reduction in splenomegaly and viable Histoplasma sp. present in the spleen. Furthermore, PVNO alone showed a significant protective effect (P less than 0.05) against a lethal challenge with Histoplasma sp. Prior treatment with PVNO also protected mouse peritoneal macrophages from the cytotoxic effects of silica particles in vitro. These results indicate that PVNO abrogates the cytotoxicity of silica particles on macrophages and also increases the resistance of mice to histoplasmosis.

Histoplasmosis oral atípica en paciente VIH reactivo: reporte de un caso / Atypical oral histoplasmosis in a HIV-reactive patient: report of a case

La histoplasmosis es una infección granulomatosa causada por un hongo dimórfico, el Histoplasma capsulatum. Clínicamente, existen tres formas: aguda, crónica y diseminada. Nosotros presentamos un caso de un paciente masculino de 19 años, reactivo para el VIH, en el estado C, quien fue derivado al Servicio de Odontología Hospital Juan A. Fernández, Buenos Aires, Argentina, en donde se realizó una evaluación estomatológica. El paciente presentaba erosiones, pápulas y nódulos indoloros de aproximadamente 2,4 mm en la mucosa bucal. Se realizaron tres biopsias correspondientes a cada tipo de lesión presente. Los estudios histológicos revelaron invasión celular por Histoplasma capsulatum. Este caso de reporta como una forma atípica de histoplasmosis en base a lesiones diferentes entre sí, lo cual hizo el diagnóstico difícil. Es común la observación de presentaciones inusuales de lesiones bucales en pacientes VIH positivos.

Enfermedad por HIV / HIV disease

Epidemiología: en el mundo se contagia 1 persona cada 6 segundos, son 16.000 nuevos casos por día, en nuestro paíis los casos declarados en estos últimos 4 años constituyen más del 60 por ciento del total de casos acumulados desde 1983, hay un crecimiento importante entre la población heterosexual, mujeres y niños; la relación actual hombre/mujer es de 3/1. Al no contar hasta la fecha con una cura definitiva de la enfermedad, es fundamental elaborar programas de prevención dirigidos a la comunidad. Infección aguda por HIV: es el período de 4 a 7 semanas posterior a la exposición al HIV, que se acompaña de una gran respuesta inmunológica que dura de 30 a 50 días, caracterizadas por alta carga viral y descenso de CD4. Los signos y síntomas son fiebre, linfadenopatía, faringitis, rash, lesiones mácula papulosas eritematosas en cara y tronco y algunas veces en extremidades, incluyendo palmas y plantas de los pies, ulceración mucocutánea en boca, esófago o genitales, mioalgia o artralgia, diarrea. cefalea, náuseas y vómitos, hepatoesplenomegalia, aftas, pérdida de peso, y síntomas neurológicos. La infección primaria representa una oportunidad de erradicar el HIV del organismo, si eso puede ser posible, el tratamiento debe ser agresivo y administrado tan pronto como sea posible, es importante que estos pacientes sean identificados y tratados precozmente, y tener la posibilidad de incluirlos en los estudios clínicos. Tratamiento: el año 96 fue un momento decisivo ya que se reconoció la importancia de la carga viral como una herramienta de pronóstico, sumada a los conteso de CD4; el descubrimiento de nuevas drogas que inhiben la replicación viral, han hecho posible nuevas estrategias terapéuticas. En el último Congreso Mundial en julio del cte., los trabajos de investigación confirmaron un aumento de la sobrevida en casi un 70 por ciento y una disminución de las enfermedades oportunistas en un 90 por ciento. En cuanto a los tratamientos, los mismos deben ser altamente efectivos, a fin de disminuir la carga viral lo más pronto posible; para lograr estos objetivos es mandatorio que el tratamiento sea instituido por un profesional entrenado en el tema y que el paciente tenga adherencia a la terapéutica. Profilaxis postexposición: Se recomienda ofrecer un asesoramiento integral al accidentado por personal entrenado y en caso de necesitar medicación antirretroviral, la misma debe ser administrada antes de las 2 horas