Abstract
Disseminated Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) may occur in immunosuppressed patients, most commonly causing visceral organ involvement and rarely presenting solely with cutaneous lesions. We report an interesting case of disseminated HSV in a 77-year-old immunocompromised man, presenting as necrotic papules and pustules with no associated systemic involvement.
Highlights
A 77 year-old man, with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on chronic immunosuppression with daily prednisone, presented with new-onset asymptomatic papules on his extremities shortly after hospitalization for a COPD exacerbation
Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV)-1 or 2 viruses become latent in sensory neurons localized to the skin or mucosa of the lips and genitals [1]
Reactivation of HSV-1 from the trigeminal ganglia is accompanied by asymptomatic shedding of the virus into saliva and the subsequent development of herpetic ulcerations on the vermillion border of the lip or external facial skin [1]
Summary
Disseminated Herpes Simplex Virus presenting as crusted papules on the palms and soles of an immunosuppressed patient Whitney Fancher MD1, Amanda Marsch MD1, John Landers MD1,2, Jane Scribner MD1,2.
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