title: Herpes simplex esophagitis in the immunocompetent host.
abstract: 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 immunocompetent 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.
authors.affiliation: Fukuoka Japan Self Defense Forces Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshimitsu
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimazaki
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D015897:Comorbidity; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D004941:Esophagitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology*; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007121:Immunocompetence; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008309:Mallory-Weiss Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D002097:C-Reactive Protein