[Kaposi's disease in AIDS: 31 cases]

Abstract

We report 31 cases of AIDS-Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) studied at the Hôpital Saint-Louis, Paris, France, from January 1983 to January 1986. Twenty-nine cases were cutaneous KS and 2 were lymph-node KS. Twenty-eight patients were homosexual or bisexual males, 1 was a woman with transfusion-AIDS and 1 was an intravenous drug-addict; one male had no known risk factor. Thirty were male and 1 female, mean age 35.5 years (+/- 8.4). All were Caucasian and positive for LAV antibodies (Elavia). 17/30 (56.6 p. 100) had a history of syphilis, 16/30 (53.3 p. 100) had a positive TPHA test, 12/30 (40 p. 100) had a history of urethral discharge, 26/31 (87 p. 100) had a history of sexually transmitted disease. 27/30 had antibodies against HBs or HBc. 14/31 (45 p. 100) presented with mild symptoms (fever, loss of weight). 10/28 (36 p. 100) had lymph node enlargement before the first cutaneous lesions of KS developed. Initial involvement included the trunk (32 p. 100), the legs (25 p. 100), the face (21 p. 100) and the lower limbs (11 p. 100). Seventy-one p. 100 of the patients had more than 10 lesions at the initial assessment. The palate was involved in 50 p. 100 of patients, the lymph nodes in 74 p. 100, the stomach in 38 p. 100, the colon in 31 p. 100. In 8 cases pulmonary involvement was present. Altogether, 55 p. 100 of the patients had visceral involvement. Enlargement of the spleen (16 p. 100) and liver (13 p. 100) was also noted. Nineteen p. 100 of the patients had chronic dermatophytic cutaneous infection, 39 p. 100 had oral candidiasis, 32 p. 100 had seborrheic dermatitis, 6 p. 100 had oral hairy leukoplakia and 26 p. 100 had trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole eruption. Fifty-five p. 100 developed opportunistic infection (OI) (Pneumocystis carinii 8 cases, intestinal cryptosporidiosis 6 cases, cerebral toxoplasmosis 4 cases, CMV pulmonary infection 3 cases). In 14 cases KS preceded OI and in 3 cases OI preceded KS. Biological results are shown in tables II and III. Main findings were: mild inflammatory syndrome (ESR 33 +/- 24 mm, first hour), polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia (18.6 g/l +/- 5.8), elevation of plasma factor VIII related antigen (191 +/- 66 U/dl), elevation of serum activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme (23.8 +/- 5 nmol/ml/min), low plasmatic cholesterol (3.77 +/- 1.1 mmol/l).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)