title: Herpes Simplex Virus-2 Esophagitis in a Young Immunocompetent Adult.
abstract: Herpes simplex esophagitis (HSE) is commonly identified in immunosuppressed patients. It is rare among immunocompetent patients and almost all of the reported cases are due to HSV-1 infection. HSV-2 esophagitis is extremely rare. We report the case of a young immunocompetent male who presented with dysphagia, odynophagia, and epigastric pain. Endoscopy showed multitudes of white nummular lesions in the distal esophagus initially suspected to be candida esophagitis. However, classic histopathological findings of multinucleated giant cells with eosinophilic intranuclear inclusions and positive HSV-2 IgM confirmed the diagnosis of HSV-2 esophagitis. The patient rapidly responded to acyclovir treatment. Although HSV-2 is predominantly associated with genital herpes, it can cause infections in other parts of the body previously attributed to only HSV-1 infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Bridgeport Hospital-Yale New Haven Health, Bridgeport, CT 06610, USA.
authors.forename: Deepak K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Kadayakkara
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Bridgeport Hospital-Yale New Haven Health, Bridgeport, CT 06610, USA.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Candelaria
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Bridgeport Hospital-Yale New Haven Health, Bridgeport, CT 06610, USA.
authors.forename: Ye Eun
authors.initials: YE
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Bridgeport Hospital-Yale New Haven Health, Bridgeport, CT 06610, USA; Department of Gastroenterology, Bridgeport Hospital-Yale New Haven Health, Bridgeport, CT 06610, USA.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Loeser