CASI CLINICI   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2015 March;174(3):129-31

Copyright © 2015 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Echo-color-Doppler of vascular multinodular mass associated with deep vein thrombosis and Kaposi’s sarcoma

Creazzo M. ¹, Dattilo G. ², Lizio G. ¹, Stellitano A. ¹, Quartuccio S. ¹, Trapani G. ¹, Imbalzano E. ¹

¹ Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, Università di Messina, Messina, Italy; ² Dipartimento di Cardiologia, Università di Messina, Messina, Italy

Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is associated with herpesvirus human infection. The mucocutaneous lesions are often pathognomonic, but they may involve all organs and anatomic sites that grow in nodules larger (tumor stage). Classic KS tends to involve the lower extremities symmetrically with dissemination along the lymph nodes, and can be related to AIDS. A 28-year-old man, with no history of HIV, came to our observation for progressive edema of the left limb. An echo-color-Doppler ultrasound (ECD) examination has documented a deep vein thrombosis of the leg and the presence of several vascular nodular lesions, with compression ab-extrinsic vascular bed in more points. A computed tomography (CT) confirmed the presence of multiple solid nodules only in the left lower extremity, and an excisional biopsy was compatible with endothelial Kaposi’s sarcoma. This case illustrates how a well-executed ECD may be suspected diagnosis of vascular tumors, through the descriptive information of ultrasound and colordoppler characteristics of the nodules. It is impossible to make a differential diagnosis between various types of vascular tumors with ECD. The extent of the disease requires CT or MRI scan and definitive diagnosis a biopsy of lesion. The ECD could be part of the exams on the first level of screening of the disease, as it provides information on the characteristics of the nodule, accelerating the diagnostic process and sometimes helping in the therapeutic decision.