Oral medicine case book 50: HIV associated Kaposi sacoma

Abstract

A 33-year-old female of African descent was referred to the Oral Medicine Clinic from a neighbouring rural clinic. The patient presented with painful nodular lesions on her gingivae and hard palate, having noticed the enlarging lesions two months earlier when they started to impair her speech and mastication. She reported that she had been diagnosed with HIV infection two years earlier and had been on antiretroviral medication for the past eleven months. The patient had a recent history of pulmonary tuberculosis and cryptococcal meningitis. At the time of the initial examination, her CD4 count was 230/µl (normal levels in adults: ±1000 cells/µl) and the laboratory report indicated viral load failure, i.e. the patient was no longer responding satisfactorily to the HAART therapy.