ABSTRACT
Proctorrhagia is a frequent symptom encountered in clinical practice, in primary care medicine as well as in Gastroenterology Departments. The common causes of proctorrhagia include hemorrhoids, diverticular disease, colorectal tumors, angiodysplasic lesions, inflammatory bowel diseases or rectal polyps. The main diagnostic tool for establishing the diagnosis in a patient presenting with proctorrhagia is colonoscopy associated when necessary with histological examination of biopsied specimens. Taking into account that rectum is a possible localization, the differential diagnosis should consider the biological status of the patient and should be made according to the presence or absence of immunodeficiency virus. We report a case of a young heterosexual male, previously HIV-unknown, who presented for intermittent rectal blood loss and who was diagnosed after colonoscopic and histological assessment with rectal Kaposi’s sarcoma.
Keywords: proctorrhagia, HIV, Kaposi’s sarcoma.
Corresponding author:
Octav GINGHINA
e-mail: octavginghina@yahoo.com
