Herpes vegetans on the shoulder mimicking nonmelanoma skin cancer

Bao Vincent K Ho; Neha K Puar; Edward W Seger; Anand Rajpara

doi:10.1016/j.idcr.2022.e01502

Herpes vegetans on the shoulder mimicking nonmelanoma skin cancer

IDCases. 2022 Apr 9:28:e01502. doi: 10.1016/j.idcr.2022.e01502. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Bao Vincent K Ho^{1

2}, Neha K Puar¹, Edward W Seger¹, Anand Rajpara¹

Affiliations

¹ Division of Dermatology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA.
² School of Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA.

Abstract

Atypical morphologic and anatomic presentations of herpetic infection can be a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Although herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infections primarily occur in the oral or anogenital region, our patient presented with ulcerated vegetative plaques on the shoulder sharing clinical features with nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC). Depending on the clinical appearance and anatomical site, proper workup including biopsy can be pivotal to arrive at a correct diagnosis as lesions can mimic a broad spectrum of cutaneous diseases, particularly if the lesion occurs in an atypical location. Dermatology providers should include HSV-2 in the differential diagnosis when challenged with unusual ulcerated or verrucous lesions.

Keywords: Dermatology; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; HSV, herpes simplex virus; Herpes simplex virus (HSV); Herpes vegetans; Infectious Disease; NMSC, nonmelanoma skin cancer; Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC); PCR, polymerase-chain reaction; VZV, varicella zoster virus.

Publication types

Case Reports