Papular pruritic eruption as a clinical indicator of an undiagnosed AIDS patient: A case report

Authors

  • Muhlis Yunus
  • Jonathan Kurnia Wijaya Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University
  • Muji Iswanty
  • Idrianti Idrus
  • Asnawi Madjid
  • Khairuddin Djawad

Keywords:

papular pruritic eruption, HIV, AIDS, undiagnosed

Abstract

Cutaneous disorders are one of the most common complications of patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome  (AIDS). The clinical manifestation of these cutaneous disorders’ ranges from infections, malignancies, and other inflammatory conditions that can be distinguished based on the severity of infection through assessment of the number of CD4 lymphocyte cells. The misdiagnosis rate of these cutaneous disorders is high, particularly in patients with unclear HIV status or undiagnosed HIV infections. Papular pruritic eruption (PPE) is one of the cutaneous manifestations of HIV that occur mostly in patients with a low count of lymphocyte CD4 cells (<200 cells/uL). We report a case of a 49-year-old male patient with PPE that was initially diagnosed with prurigo nodularis with no improvement after topical potent corticosteroid treatment. A more thorough history taking, physical examination, and confirmation through histopathology examination revealed that the patient was an undiagnosed AIDS patient with a total lymphocyte CD4 cell count of 45 cells/uL with PPE. The patient was successfully treated using a combination of antiretroviral (ARV), oral antihistamines, and topical corticosteroids with significant clinical improvements, prompting physicians to be more aware of the possibility of PPE when faced with unspecific dermatitis / prurigo-like clinical manifestation with no improvement after conventional corticosteroid treatment.

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Published

2023-08-07

How to Cite

1.
Yunus M, Wijaya JK, Iswanty M, Idrus I, Madjid A, Djawad K. Papular pruritic eruption as a clinical indicator of an undiagnosed AIDS patient: A case report. J Pak Assoc Dermatol [Internet]. 2023Aug.7 [cited 2024Dec.4];33(3):1154-9. Available from: http://www.jpad.com.pk/index.php/jpad/article/view/2192

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Case Reports

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