[Pigmented erythroderma in AIDS. 5 cases].
BACKGROUND
We report five cases of pigmented erythroderma occurring during AIDS, noteworthy for its unusual hyperpigmented feature, its advent at the terminal stages of AIDS, and an CD8 cells dermal infiltrate.


METHODS
It is a retrospective study of five patients infected with HIV: a woman infected by transfusion and four homosexual men, average 55 years old. No one was intravenous drug user. They were all severely immunocompromised; HTLV I/II serology was negative. Skin biopsies were studied with light microscopy (Hematoxylin-eosin) and immunohistochemical studies were performed on frozen sections.


RESULTS
The patients had an erythroderma of particular interest because of the associated hyperpigmentation, the severe repercussion (pruritus, weight loss), and the difficulty in treating (except systemic corticosteroids). The histology demonstrated a mononuclear dermal lymphocytic infiltrate, without epidermotropism and atypical cytonuclear feature. The phenotype of the infiltrate was uniformly of the suppressor-cytotoxic subset (CD8+, CD4-).


CONCLUSIONS
Our cases are like those previously described as "Pseudo-Sezary", mimicking a lymphoma during AIDS. Numerous factors are probably the cause of this hyperpigmented erythroderma: HIV, CD8 cells...


CONCLUSIONS
This severe skin disease, complicating AIDS, seems very particular, but not yet clearly defined. In practice, the problem remains the treatment of this severe erythroderma, because only the systemic corticosteroids are effective, but this is debatable during the treatment of AIDS.
Picard-Dahan
C
C
Service de Dermatologie du Professeur Belaïch, Hôpital Bichar-Claude Bernard, Paris.
Le Guyadec
T
T
Grossin
M
M
Féton
N
N
Raphaël
M
M
Simonpoli
A M
AM
Crickx
B
B
Belaïch
S
S
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D003873:Dermatitis, Exfoliative / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017495:Hyperpigmentation / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D016410:Lymphoma, T-Cell, Cutaneous / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012751:Sezary Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis
Erythrodermies pigmentées au cours du SIDA. Cinq cas.