title: Fusospirochetal superinfection of pre-existing oral lesion in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
abstract: Three patients with AIDS presented with nonbleeding, painful, fetid, oral ulcers overlaid with a grayish-black semiadherent membrane at the sites of a pre-existing lesion. These lesions persisted despite treatment directed toward the primary etiology (cytomegalovirus, Kaposi's sarcoma). Gram- and Giemsa-stained smears of teased membrane fragments revealed an impressive bacterial flora with fusiforms and Borrelia-type spirochetes. Prompt treatment with penicillin brought amelioration of symptoms and sloughing of the overlaying membrane.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, New York 10029, USA.
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Bottone
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D005674:Fusobacterium Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D006088:Gram-Negative Aerobic Bacteria / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006801:Humans; D019226:Oral Ulcer / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D013145:Spirochaetales Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D015163:Superinfection / Q000382:microbiology*