1/5. vidarabine therapy for severe herpesvirus infections. An unusual syndrome of chronic varicella and transient immunologic deficiency.Six patients with severe herpesvirus infections were successfully treated with vidarabine. One patient had a previously undescribed syndrome of chronic cutaneous varicella infection of eight months' duration, associated with transient but complete duppression of lymphocyte response to conconavalin A. Other diagnoses were severe varicella pneumonia, progressive cytomegalovirus pneumonia associated with acute lymphocytic leukemia, herpes simplex encephalitis, severe zoster associated with stage IV lymphoma, and disseminated herpes simplex in a patient receiving high doses of steroids. All patients showed cessation of new lesions or abrupt clinical improvement between days 2 and 4 after initiation of therapy, and all were cured of their clinical infection. Dramatic improvement in all of our patients and the minimal toxicity observed make vidarabine suitable for use in severe herpesvirus infections.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = herpesvirus (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/5. Dermatologic manifestations of infections in immunocompromised patients.Thirty-one immunocompromised patients (22 renal allograft recipients, 5 patients receiving chronic corticosteroid therapy, and 4 patients undergoing chemotherapy for acute leukemia) with significant dermatologic infection, excluding typical cellulitis and herpesvirus infections, were retrospectively identified over a 12-year period. Of these 31 patients, 15 (48%) had infection restricted to their skin, 6 (19%) appeared to have primary cutaneous infection that spread hematogenously to other parts of the body, 2 (6%) had infections of adjoining nasal tissue that spread to contiguous skin, and 8 (26%) appeared to have disseminated systemic infection that spread to the skin. In six of the eight patients with apparent secondary skin involvement, the development of the cutaneous lesion was the first clinical indication of disseminated infection. Eleven immunocompromised patients (35%) with bacterial infection of the skin or subcutaneous tissue were identified. These patients could be divided into three categories: leukemic patients with bacteremic gram-negative infection metastasizing to the skin (3 cases), renal transplant recipients with recurrent staphylococcal infection on and around the elbow ("transplant elbow") or streptococcal sepsis from a site of cellulitis (5 cases), and immunocompromised patients with opportunistic bacterial infection due to nocardia asteroides or atypical mycobacteria (3 cases). Seventeen immunocompromised patients (55%) with fungal infection of the skin or subcutaneous tissue were identified. These included 12 patients with opportunistic fungal infection (cryptococcus neoformans, 4 cases; aspergillus species, 3 cases; paecilomyces, 2 cases; rhizopus species, 2 cases; and candida tropicalis, 1 case) and 5 patients with extensive, confluent cutaneous dermatophyte infections. One patient with protothecosis and two patients with extensive papillomavirus infection were identified. Of these latter two cases, one had his immunosuppression discontinued, with clearing of his extensive warts; the other had confluent warts of the face and neck that subsequently underwent malignant degeneration to squamous cell carcinoma while chronic immunosuppressive therapy was continued.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = herpesvirus (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/5. Vesicular lesions in adults due to echovirus 11 infections.Echovirus 11 was recovered from vesicular lesions in two adults. Patient 1 had a severe disseminated vesicular exanthem. Patient 2 had a mild vesicular enanthem. Both were clinically suspected of having herpesvirus hominis lesions. Serologic studies indicate that these viruses were similar to each other and also to the "U" prime strain.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = herpesvirus (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/5. Chronic infection with cutaneous herpes simplex in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus.A 68-year-old black woman with systemic lupus erythematosus being managed by systemic corticosteroids developed large ulcerated lesions in a dermatomal distribution on the flank and abdomen. Subsequently, large ulcers developed progressively in the perianal region, the buttocks, the perivaginal region, and the thighs. The clinical diagnosis was vasculitis of systemic lupus erythematosus. biopsy from the margin of an ulcer showed changes in the epidermis that are specific for infections by herpesvirus. Electron microscopy revealed viral particles of herpesvirus. Cultures from the perianal lesions grew Herpesvirus hominis. This is the first report to our knowledge of "chronic cutaneous herpes infection" in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.33333333333333keywords = herpesvirus (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/5. Human herpesvirus-6-associated exanthema in a patient with acute lymphocytic leukaemia.Summary: We report the first case of human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) associated exanthema in a patient with acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL). We analysed dna extracted from an exanthematous lesion using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). dna was positive for HHV-6 but negative for herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster virus, and cytomegalovirus. Immunohistochemical staining of the skin with monoclonal antibody against (HHV-6 confirmed the infection. The possibility of HHV-6 infection should be considered when an atypical skin rash is seen in patients with ALL.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.83333333333333keywords = herpesvirus (Clic here for more details about this article) |