A case of Castleman disease with hemophagocytic syndrome derived from HHV8 infection

Background For a patient presenting with fever, multiple lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly, pathogen infection should be preferentially considered, followed by lymphoid malignancies. When traditional laboratory and pathological detection cannot find the pathogenic microorganism, metagenomic sequencing (MGS) which targets the person's genome for exceptional genetic disorders may detect a rare pathogen. Case presentation Here, we introduced the diagnostic clue of a case of multicentric Castleman disease (MCD) with hemophagocytic syndrome which was elicited from the detection of human herpesvirus-8 in the blood of a HIV-1 infected person by MGS technology during pathogen inspection. This case highlights the need to increase the awareness of MCD among clinicians and pathologists. Conclusions MGS technology may play a pivotal role in providing diagnostic clues during pathogen inspection, especially when pathogens are not detectable by conventional methods.

Automated summary

Metagenomic sequencing (MGS) technology can detect rare pathogens by targeting the person's genome for exceptional genetic disorders in cases where traditional methods fail to identify the pathogen. The detection of human herpesvirus-8 in the blood of an HIV-1 infected individual using MGS technology highlights the diagnostic potential of MGS in identifying diseases like multicentric Castleman disease (MCD). Increasing awareness of MCD among clinicians and pathologists is crucial in improving diagnostic capabilities in cases where conventional methods are unsuccessful.