Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is highly associated with giant idiopathic esophageal ulcers in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to determine whether the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) exists in giant idiopathic esophageal ulcers in the patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).


METHODS
16 AIDS patients with a primary complaint of epigastric discomfort were examined by gastroscopy. Multiple and giant esophageal ulcers were biopsied and analyzed with pathology staining and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to determine the potential pathogenic microorganisms, including HIV, cytomegalovirus (CMV) and herpes simplex viruses (HSV).


RESULTS
HIV was detected in ulcer samples from 12 out of these 16 patients. Ulcers in 2 patients were infected with CMV and ulcers in another 2 patients were found HSV positive. No obvious cancerous pathological changes were found in these multiple giant esophageal ulcer specimens.


CONCLUSIONS
HIV may be one of the major causative agents of multiple benign giant esophageal ulcers in AIDS patients.
Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University Shanghai, China.
Bei
B
Lv
Shanghai Jiaotong University Medical School Shanghai, China.
Xin
X
Cheng
Albert Einstein College of Medicine Bronx, New York, USA.
Jackson
J
Gao
Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Hong
H
Zhao
Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University Shanghai, China.
Liping
L
Chen
Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University Jilin, China.
Liwei
L
Wang
Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University Shanghai, China.
Shaoping
S
Huang
Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University Shanghai, China.
Zhenyu
Z
Fan
Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University Shanghai, China.
Renfang
R
Zhang
Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University Shanghai, China.
Yinzhong
Y
Shen
Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University Shanghai, China.
Lei
L
Li
Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University Shanghai, China.
Baochi
B
Liu
Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University Shanghai, China.
Tangkai
T
Qi
Department of Hepatology, Tianjing Second People's Hospital Tianjing, China.
Jing
J
Wang
Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan UniversityShanghai, China; Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical UniversityWenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Jilin
J
Cheng
AIDS; CMV; HIV; HSV; endoscopy; esophageal ulcer