title: Acute abdomen without cutaneous signs of varicella zoster virus infection as a late complication of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation: importance of empiric therapy with acyclovir.
abstract: Two patients complained of severe abdominal pain as the first sign of varicella zoster virus infection about 1 year after allogeneic BMT. In case 1, eruptions, found on the face and chest on admission, became vesicular and dispersed on the third hospital day. Though acyclovir (ACV) was immediately started, he died on the fourth day. In case 2, skin rash was never observed during the clinical course. Laparotomy on the third hospital day revealed many hemorrhagic spots on the liver surface and mucous membrane of the upper GI tract, indicating disseminated visceral disease. Empiric therapy with ACV was successful.
authors.affiliation: Fifth Department of Internal Medicine, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yagi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Karasuno
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yasumi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawamoto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Uosima
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hiraoka
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Masaoka
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain; D000328:Adult; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005076:Exanthema; D006562:Herpes Zoster / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014645:Herpesvirus 3, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013997:Time Factors; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous