Hemorrhagic tonsillitis as a presentation of Kaposi's sarcoma

<p><strong>Introduction:</strong> Lesions in the oral cavity can be the first clinical evidences of HIV infection. Hemorrhagic tonsillitis should be suspicious of a Kaposi's sarcoma, among other causes. Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is considered a marker of AIDS in HIV infection...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tahamara Alcalá Villalón, Dinorah de la Caridad Oliva Venereo, Albadio Samir Pérez López
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana 2019-04-01
Series:Revista Habanera de Ciencias Médicas
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Online Access:http://www.revhabanera.sld.cu/index.php/rhab/article/view/2751
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Summary:<p><strong>Introduction:</strong> Lesions in the oral cavity can be the first clinical evidences of HIV infection. Hemorrhagic tonsillitis should be suspicious of a Kaposi's sarcoma, among other causes. Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is considered a marker of AIDS in HIV infection, which mainly affects the skin, but often acts upon the mucosa of the oral cavity.</p><p><strong>Objective:</strong> To identify hemorrhagic tonsillitis as a form of presentation of Kaposi's sarcoma associated to HIV.</p><p><strong>Case presentation:</strong> A 22-year-old male patient comes to the doctor´s office complaining of odynophagia and dysphagia. Hypertrophic tonsils of hemorrhagic aspect are observed in the laryngoscopy. Systemic cause is suspected, mainly, an HIV infection.  A clinical onset of AIDS as a result of KS with predominant lesions in the oral cavity including the tonsils is confirmed.</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> The hemorrhagic characteristics of tonsillitis leads to a presumptive diagnostic of HIV infection with a Kaposi's sarcoma occurring predominantly in the oral cavity.</p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Hemorrhagic Tonsillitis, HIV, AIDS, Kaposi's sarcoma
ISSN:1729-519X