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Herpes simplex esophagitis in the immunocompetent host

2005; Oxford University Press; Volume: 18; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1442-2050.2005.00510.x

1442-2050

Shinichi Kato, Ryota Tochinai, S. Yoshimitsu, Kae Shimazaki, S. Ogawa, K. Itoh, Souichirou Miura,

Eosinophilic Esophagitis

We report here a case of herpes esophagitis with Mallory–Weiss syndrome in an immunocompetent host. A 26-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of common cold symptoms and eruptions on the body. On day 2 after hospitalization, the patient showed high-grade fever, odynophagia and hematemesis. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopic examination showed multiple ulcerations throughout the mid- and distal esophagus. Bleeding from a Mallory–Weiss tear was also seen. Follow-up endoscopic examinations showed whitish exudates on day 5. Histological examination of biopsy specimens showed Cowdry type A intranuclear inclusion bodies in epithelial cells. Positive staining of a specific antibody against herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) was seen in the nuclei of esophageal epithelial cells. Primary HSV-1 infection was suspected because ELISA titers of serum IgM antibody against HSV-1 were high and titers of serum IgG antibody against HSV-1 increased from an almost cut-off ratio. A diagnosis of herpes esophagitis in an immuocompetent host was made. Our case is the first report of herpes esophagitis with Mallory–Weiss syndrome in the immunocompetent host. It is important to remind herpes esophagitis in cases of severe odynophagia even in immunocompetent hosts.