Herpes vegetans, an atypical herpes lesion in HIV patient: A case report

Dermatol Reports. 2022 Mar 14;14(1):9180. doi: 10.4081/dr.2022.9180. eCollection 2022 Mar 11.

Abstract

Herpes vegetans is a rare form of Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection in immunocompromised patients that clinically presents as a verrucous and hypertrophic lesion. In this case, we present a 36-year-old man with exophytic verrucous masses in the genital area that was initially suspected as a malignancy. Difficulty to properly diagnose the patient resulted in a few failed attempts at treating the lesion. After excluding other differential diagnoses, the atypical lesion proved to be caused by vegetative herpes infection due to a good response to HSV therapy. Reevaluation of biopsy also showed signs of HSV etiology. Atypical presentation of herpes simplex in immunocompromised patients still proves to be a challenge to diagnose and treat. Proper clinical identification and workup are needed to diagnose and to choose proper regiments.

Keywords: Atypical Lesion; HIV; HPV; Herpes Vegetans.

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Funding: None.