Cerebral vasculitis caused by Talaromyces marneffei and Aspergillus niger in a HIV-positive patient: a case report and literature review

Cerebral vasculitis is a long-standing but flourishing and fadeless research topic. Infections are a frequent cause of cerebral vasculitis, vital to diagnose due to involvement of specific anti-infection treatments. A 65-year-old man visited the hospital for his neurological symptoms without obvious inducements. After admission, radiological examination and comprehensive conventional microbiological tests (CMTs) revealed suspected intracranial infectious vasculitis. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction further confirmed that his cerebral vasculitis was caused by Talaromyces marneffei (T. marneffei) and Aspergillus niger (A. niger) co-infection. The patient’s final diagnosis changed from initial herpetic encephalitis, due to the past history of cephalosome and facial herpes and non-significant antiviral therapeutic effects, to fungal cerebral vasculitis. The patient was discharged after use of targeted antifungal therapies on day 18 of his admission, and his associated symptoms disappeared completely at follow-up 3 weeks later. We first illustrated the presence of uncommon cerebral vasculitis caused by T. marneffei and A. niger in a human immunodeficiency virus-positive patient. In clinically suspected patients with infectious cerebral vasculitis, mNGS should be performed to detect potential pathogens if CMTs may not provide useful pathogenic clues, highlighting the importance of mNGS in the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases.

Bilateral Spontaneous Pneumothorax in a COVID-19 and HIV-Positive Patient: A Case Report

This case report describes a 60 year-old Black-American male with a past medical history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and hyperthyroidism, who suffered a bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) in the setting of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. SP is a well-established complication in HIV-positive patients and only recently has been associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. While HIV and COVID-19 infections have been independently linked with increased risk of SP development, it is unknown if both infections interact in a synergistic fashion to exacerbate SP risk. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), patients living with HIV have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 infection and the mechanism remains to be elucidated. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a HIV-positive patient, who in the setting of SARS-CoV-2 infection, developed bilateral apical spontaneous pneumothorax and was later found to have a left lower lobe tension pneumothorax. This case highlights the importance of considering SP on the differential diagnosis when HIV-positive patients suddenly develop respiratory distress in the setting of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Optimizing Patient Experience by Improving Patient-Clinician Communication Through Hospital Electronic Systems

Providing high value care is essential in today’s healthcare context. A critical aspect of this is ensuring patients have a positive patient experience. The use of electronic systems can serve as enablers in this regard as this exploratory research highlights.

An HIV-1 Positive Woman Without Usual Immunodeficiency

Introduction: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) inflicts severe damage to the immune system. It transmits from one person to another through blood transfusions and vertical and sexual transmission. It should be noted that almost all papers reporting AIDS emphasized that HIV led to immune deficiency. However, this study reported the first HIV-1 seropositive woman who had an active viral load of HIV-1 without any signs or CD4 lymphocyte count depletion. Case Presentation: This study, for the first time, reported a 46-year-old HIV-1 seropositive woman without any signs and symptoms diagnosed 31 years ago by laboratory tests. Also, it is noteworthy that the patient had not received regular therapeutics during the infection period. Our serologic tests showed an active seropositive patient without any CD4 depletion. The viral load of HIV-1 was 132967.2 u/L, which was quantified by a real-time PCR assay. Also, a CBC test was performed and showed no abnormal results. Conclusions: An untreated HIV-1 positive patient without immunodeficiency is a rare condition, and we found no report of it in the literature. This article reported an HIV-1 positive patient in whom the infection was confirmed several times using the real-time PCR method.

Clinical observation of a prurigo nodularis in a HIV-positive patient

Вирус иммунодефицита человека (ВИЧ) имеет глобальные масштабы распространения и представляет собой одну из самых серьезных социальных и медицинских проблем. Эпидемическая ситуация с ВИЧ-инфекцией в мире и Российской Федерации остается напряженной. У ВИЧ-положительных больных нередко отмечаются особенности поражения кожных покровов и слизистых оболочек. Кожные процессы у ВИЧ-позитивных пациентов протекают, как правило, атипично, имеют торпидное течение, могут возникать в несвойственных для них возрастных группах и нередко резистентны к стандартному лечению. Поражения кожных покровов и слизистых оболочек у ВИЧ-инфицированных можно условно разделить на несколько групп: аллергические реакции, инфекционные, паранеопластические процессы и дерматозы с неизвестным патогенезом. В современной литературе недостаточно освещен вопрос о группе «дерматозов с неясным патогенезом» на фоне ВИЧ-инфекции, в частности о пруриго. В описанном клиническом случае представлена ВИЧ-позитивная пациентка с редким проявлением узловатого пруриго. Освещены история вопроса, этиология, клинические проявления, методы лечения. Представленный случай иллюстрирует манифестацию пруриго на фоне системных причин (ВИЧ-инфекции) и начала высокоактивной антиретровирусной терапии без предшествующего атопического анамнеза. Вразрез с данными литературы, количество CD4+ у пациентки с почесухой составляло более 200 клеток/мкл, хотя, как известно, почесуха относится к дерматозам с низким числом клеток CD4+. Остается неясной роль иммунодефицитного состояния в патогенезе пруриго. Возможно, в данном случае развитие дерматоза спровоцировано прямым вирусным эффектом или токсическим влиянием антиретровирусных препаратов. Интересным является факт быстрого положительного ответа кожного процесса на традиционную терапию. Ключевые слова: узловатая почесуха, пруриго, ВИЧ-инфекция, иммунодефицит, клиническая картина, особенности течения, клиническое наблюдение. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a globally spreading virus that represents one of the most serious social and health problems. The epidemic situation of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection in the world and, in particular, in the Russian Federation remains tense. In HIV-positive patients, specific lesions of the skin and mucous membranes are often noted. Skin processes in HIV-positive patients are usually atypical, have a torpid course, may occur in unusual age groups and are extremely difficult to respond to standard treatment. Lesions of the skin and mucous membranes in HIV-infected can be divided into several groups: allergic reactions, infectious, paraneoplastic processes and dermatoses with unknown pathogenesis. In the modern literature, the issue of the group of «dermatoses with an unclear pathogenesis» against the background of HIV infection, in particular about prurigo, is insufficiently illuminated. In the described clinical case, an HIV-positive patient with a rare manifestation of nodular prurigo is presented. The history of the issue, etiology, clinical manifestations, and treatment methods are covered. The presented case illustrates the manifestation of prurigo against the background of systemic causes (HIV infection) and initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy without a previous atopic history. Contrary to the literature data, the CD4+ count in a patient with prurigo was more than 200 cells/μL, although pruritus is known to be a dermatoses with a low CD4+ cell count. The role of the immunodeficiency state in the pathogenesis of prurigo remains unclear. Perhaps, in this case, the development of dermatosis is provoked by a direct viral effect or the toxic effect of antiretroviral drugs. An interesting fact is the rapid positive response of the skin process to traditional therapy.