Bacillary angiomatosis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: case report and literature review

Bacillary angiomatosis, a complication of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), is characterized by the development of skin lesions that resemble hemangiomas, or tumors made up of blood vessels. It was recently shown that bacillary angiomatosis results from infection by a microorganism, similar to that causing cat scratch disease. A cat scratch or bite may transmit an infection by the bacteria Pasteurella multocida. A case is described of a 50-year-old man with AIDS and skin lesions present for two months. He had been feeding cats within the past year and received several bites and scratches. The skin lesions were red, friable or easily broken, dome-shaped pimples or nodules, and occurred on the nose, trunk, arms and legs. Laboratory findings indicated an infection with a bacillus type of microorganism and skin lesions consistent with bacillary angiomatosis. The patient was treated with the antibiotic erythromycin, and his skin lesions resolved within 15 days, with no recurrence of lesions during four months of follow-up. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)