Left thigh swelling in an AIDS patient

Abstract

Burkitt's lymphoma is Burkitt's an aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL). It occurs most often in immunocompromised patients. It typically affects those patients with a high CD4 count and patients often have a high serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels. The patient is a 33 year old male who presented with progressive left thigh swelling. He has been treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) therapy for several years .Patient's cat scan (CT)showed evidence of a soft tissue mass which was confirmed by an incisional biopsy. The patient once diagnosed underwent intensive chemotherapy including hyper-CVAD chemotherapy regimen. His thigh swelling responded well to this treatment. Patient's hospital course was complicated by tumor lysis syndrome which required four days of dialysis treatment. Pathogenesis, diagnosis and therapy of AIDS associated Burkitt's lymphoma are reviewed for this unusual presentation of Burkitt's lymphoma.