title: [A case of disseminated candidiasis as an initial presentation of AIDS].
abstract: A 44-year-old woman referred for skin eruptions and an altered mental status was confirmed to have HIV infection on Western Blot analysis. Her CD4+ T cell count was 15/microl. On admission, she appeared quite ill with respiratory distress. Chest X-ray showed bilateral patchy infiltration and pleural effusions. She was treated with cefotaxime, pentamidine, and antituberculosis drugs, but her condition worsened and dopamine was initiated. Intensive treatment failed, and she died the following day. An autopsy showed purplish papules on her face and trunk and multiple white nodules in her liver, spleen and lungs. Culture was positive for Candida Albicans, yielding a diagnosis and of disseminated candidiasis. It is rare for HIV patients to be diagnosed with disseminated candidiasis, since the pathogenesis usually requires disruption of the mucosal barrier. The defense mechanism against disseminated candidiasis is mainly neutrophils and macrophages, and its dysfunction is not a primary characteristic of HIV infection. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in Japan of a HIV patient to have disseminated candidiasis.
authors: Department of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo Metropolitan Komagome Hospital.
authors: Naoki
authors: N
authors: Yanagisawa
authors: Akihiko
authors: A
authors: Suganuma
authors: Nozomi
authors: N
authors: Takeshita
authors: Akifumi
authors: A
authors: Imamura
authors: Atsushi
authors: A
authors: Ajisawa
authors: Masayoshi
authors: M
authors: Negishi
authors: Tomokazu
authors: T
authors: Suzuki
authors: Misao
authors: M
authors: Honma
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D000328:Adult; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D002179:Candidiasis, Cutaneous / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans