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Background: In this study, we aim to evaluate microangiopathy in HIV positive patients by using capillaroscopy. To date, few studies have been published on the topic. Capillaroscopy may be a tool for early diagnosis of cardiovascular involvement in this patient population., Methodology: Cross-sectional study with HIV positive patients >18 years. The enrolment period was set from January to June 2018. The following data were collected: demographic (sex, age), laboratory tests (duration of infection, CD4 cell count, CD4:CD8 ratio, coinfection with other viruses), antiretroviral treatment, dyslipidemia, and comorbidities (active smoking, alcoholism, high blood pressure, dyslipidaemia, diabetes, cardiopathy). The capillaroscopy and blood tests were performed simultaneously. The following alterations were evaluated in the capillaroscopy: congestion, tortuosity, haemorrhage, dilations, capillary loss, and presence of megacapillaries., Results: One hundred and two patients were included; 73.5% were male, mean age was 40 years (SD: 10), and mean duration of infection 4.5 years (SD: 3.1). At diagnosis, mean CD4 cell count was 408/mm3 and CD4/CD8 ratio 0.4. A number of patients (14.7%) were coinfected with the hepatitis B virus; 31.3% were active smokers and 13.7% alcoholics. Capillaroscopy alterations were found in most study patients (93.1%): congestion (78.5%), tortuosity (77.5%), haemorrhage (13.8%), dilations (11.8%), capillary loss (5%), and megacapillaries (1%). Capillary tortuosity was associated with age and smoking; and haemorrhage with age, CD4, antiretroviral treatment, and hypertension., Conclusion: Prevalence of capillaroscopy alterations is high in HIV positive patients, particularly tortuosity and congestion. To the best of our knowledge, the later alteration has not been previously reported in this group of patients.

Rothia mucilaginosa (R. mucilaginosa), formerly named Stomatococcus mucilaginosus, is a facultatively anaerobic, encapsulated gram-positive coccus, which forms part of the normal oropharyngeal and is rarely considered to be a pathogen in immunocompetent patients, although it can produce, on rare occasions, serious infections like bacteremia, endocarditis and respiratory infections; such as pneumonia, pleural empyema or superinfection of bronchiectasis. We present the case of a 74-year-old male diagnosed with right basal pneumonia of torpid evolution with a poor initial response to different antibiotics, with clinical and radiological worsening and the appearance of bilateral bronchopneumonia with pseudonodular images. R. mucilaginosa in pure culture was isolated in three sputum cultures and in bronchial suction. The patient was finally treated with Linezolid with a good clinical response and normalisation of the thorax radiography, confirming the disappearance of R. mucilaginosa in subsequent sputum cultures. As there are few documented cases of pneumonia due to R. mucilaginosa, we believe that presenting this case will be of interest.

Pulmonary tumor embolisms (PTE) are an infrequent cause of dyspnea in oncological patients. The majority are diagnosed in patients with advanced tumors, above all localized in the breast, lung or stomach. There are few published cases involving patients with urothelial tumors. We present the case of a 69 year-old male, without a previous diagnosis of cancer, who was admitted due to subacute dyspnea, with clinical suspicion of pulmonary thromboembolism (PT). The patient died on the fifth day of admission. The autopsy confirmed the existence of a tumor in the left renal pelvis with hepatic and lymphoganglionary metastasis and an extensive microvascular pulmonary embolism that affected a large part of the capillaries and medium-caliber blood vessels of both lungs. PTE were considered responsible for the progressive respiratory failure and as the final cause of death. The most frequent clinical presentation of PTE is dyspnea. They are often mistaken for PT and diagnosis is not easy. Their prognosis is very bad, with extremely high mortality and confirmation is usually post-mortem.