Cutaneous cytomegalovirus vasculitis: an unusual clinical presentation of a common opportunistic pathogen

A case of cutaneous leukocytoclastic cytomegalovirus (CMV) vasculitis arising in a man with acute myelogenous leukemia is described. An antemortem biopsy specimen of ulcerated skin and an open lung biopsy specimen showed leukocytoclastic vasculitis and nonspecific diffuse interstitial pneumonitis, respectively, neither tissue demonstrating viral infection. Autopsy material revealed CMV vasculitis with typical intranuclear inclusions identified in enlarged endothelial cells associated with thrombus formation and luminal narrowing, in addition to florid CMV pneumonitis. This case represents an unusual although clinically relevant expression of a common opportunistic pathogen.