Hemophagocytic syndrome associated with extracerebral toxoplasmosis in an HIV-infected patient

Guillaume, M.-P.; Driessens, N.; Libert, M.; De Bels, D.; Corazza, F.; Karmali, R.

doi:10.1016/j.ejim.2006.04.008

« Previous Next »European Journal of Internal Medicine
Volume 17, Issue 7 , Pages 503-504, November 2006

Hemophagocytic syndrome associated with extracerebral toxoplasmosis in an HIV-infected patient

M.-P. Guillaume
- Department of Medicine, Brugmann University Hospital, Free University of Brussels, 4 Van Gehuchten Plein, B 1020 Brussels, Belgium
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +32 2 477 22 18.
N. Driessens
- Department of Medicine, Brugmann University Hospital, Free University of Brussels, 4 Van Gehuchten Plein, B 1020 Brussels, Belgium
M. Libert
- Department of Medicine, Brugmann University Hospital, Free University of Brussels, 4 Van Gehuchten Plein, B 1020 Brussels, Belgium
D. De Bels
- Intensive Care Department, Brugmann University Hospital, Free University of Brussels, 4 Van Gehuchten Plein, B 1020 Brussels, Belgium
F. Corazza
- Hematology Laboratory, Brugmann University Hospital, Free University of Brussels, 4 Van Gehuchten Plein, B 1020 Brussels, Belgium
R. Karmali
- Department of Medicine, Brugmann University Hospital, Free University of Brussels, 4 Van Gehuchten Plein, B 1020 Brussels, Belgium

Received 14 December 2005; accepted 3 April 2006.

Abstract

Hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS) is a clinical entity that combines non-specific clinical and biological features. The diagnosis is usually confirmed by a bone marrow examination. HPS may be primary or secondary to a malignancy or to an infectious or autoimmune disease. Since it was first described, various agents have been implicated, including viruses, bacteria, and parasites. In HIV patients, many cases occur with lymphoma or with a variety of opportunistic infections due to CMV, HHV8, Pneumocystis carinii, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, MAC, toxoplasmosis, and even pneumococcus. We report here a case of an AIDS patient presenting a HPS secondary to an extracerebral form of systemic toxoplasmosis that was only revealed by specific PCR in tissue other than the CNS.

Keywords: Hemophagocytic syndrome, Macrophage, Extracerebral toxoplasmosis, HIV, PCR