Unique Vascular Skin Lesions Associated With Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Abstract

We report four patients with antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus and/or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who were noted to have unique vascular lesions that clinically resembled Kaposi's sarcoma or pyogenic granulomas. The lesions were asymptomatic erythematous-violaceous papules and nodules. They erupted over several weeks, without predilection for a specific cutaneous site. Most lesions resolved spontaneously. Histologically these lesions revealed a proliferation of vascular spaces lined by plump, cuboidal endothelial cells embedded in an edematous stroma with an inflammatory infiltrate. It is unclear if these lesions represent Kaposi's sarcoma or pyogenic granulomas or if they are distinct neoplasms associated with human immunodeficiency virus.