Cutaneous manifestation of disseminated histoplasmosis in a renal transplant patient

Abstract

Introduction: Histoplasma capsulatum infection frequently occurs in patients with HIV immunosuppression or in transplant recipients receiving immunosuppressive therapy. Primary infection is acquired by inhalation with pulmonary involvement, and may subsequently spread to other organs such as liver, intestines, heart, kidneys, skin or bone tissue. It is very rare in renal transplant patients, although it is common in lung transplantation.

Objective: To present the case of a patient with a history of renal transplantation nine years earlier, who was admitted for presenting skin lesions not typical of histoplasmosis, developing disseminated histoplasmosis two weeks later, without pulmonary involvement.

Clinical Case: Post-renal transplant male patient, aged 65, who developed cutaneous manifestations characterized by erythematous and scaly papules and plaques with crusty and atrophic surfaces, accompanied by persistent fever and lymphadenopathy. There were no pulmonary signs or symptoms of a primary infection. The definitive diagnosis was made by histopathology of skin and cervical nodes, in addition to the growth of H. capsulatum in specific blood cultures for fungi. The patient was treated with liposomal amphotericin B and later with itraconazole on an outpatient basis with favorable evolution.

Conclusion: The case described is important since it does not resemble the typical presentation of this entity, that is, with primary pulmonary and subsequently cutaneous involvement. It is expected to have enriched the knowledge of this disease in transplanted patients.