CUTANEOUS CRYPTOCOCCOSIS AND HISTOPLASMOSIS COINFECTION IN A PATIENT WITH AIDS

Patients with AIDS may have multiple infections at one time, and skin lesions resulting from simultaneous infections with more than one orga nism have been described. We report a case of disseminated cryptococca l and histoplasmosis infections with cutaneous lesions in a patient wi th AIDS. In addition, we demonstrate the first case of two coexisting fungal infections in a unique skin lesion. The cutaneous presentation of infectious disorders in HIV-infected patients is often nondescript and not diagnosed by clinical observation alone. Biopsies and cultures are essential for making accurate diagnoses in immunocompromised pati ents with unusual skin lesions.