Molluscum contagiosum presenting as cellulitis in an AIDS patient: cytologic and ultrastructural features

This report describes the cytologic features of molluscum contagiosum presenting clinically as a left thigh abscess in a 29-yr-old male with AIDS. The fine-needle aspiration findings are correlated with the histologic and ultrastructural findings. Molluscum contagiosum's clinical presentation, natural course, and induction of host immune responses in immunocompetent and immunosuppressed individuals as identified by light microscopy, immunocytochemically and ultrastructurally are reviewed. Molluscum contagiosum presenting clinically and cytologically as an abscess is unusual. In this report, we emphasize the inclusion of molluscum contagiosum in a differential diagnosis of an abscess, particularly in immunosuppressed patients, and discuss the cytologic differential diagnoses.