Herpes esophagitis: a cause of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in an immunocompetent patient.
Herpes esophagitis presents as dysphagia and odynophagia in the majority of cases. Rarely has hematemesis been reported. We report a case of herpes esophagitis presenting with hematemesis in an immunocompetent patient. This 67-year-old man suffered from herpes esophagitis, proven by a panendoscopic examination, with characteristic histological findings. He presented with hematemesis and passage of tarry stools, but was otherwise healthy with normal humoral, cell-mediated immunity and was negative for human immunodeficiency virus antibody. Only supportive treatment was given. He has been well for the past nine months since the initial diagnosis.
Chien
R N
RN
Department of Hepato-Gastroenterology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Chen
P C
PC
Lin
P Y
PY
Wu
C S
CS
D000368:Aged; D004941:Esophagitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology*; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007121:Immunocompetence; D008297:Male