A Rare Case of Herpetic Esophagitis in an Immunocompetent Patient with No Risk Factors  

作　　者：Athanasios Kontos George Sachtouris Ioannis Tziortziotis Evelina Skafida Evaggelia Boti Dimitrios Dimitroulopoulos Athanasios Kontos;George Sachtouris;Ioannis Tziortziotis;Evelina Skafida;Evaggelia Boti;Dimitrios Dimitroulopoulos(Gastroenterology Department of Cancer Hospital Agios Savvas, Athens, Greece;Pathology Department of Cancer Hospital Agios Savvas, Athens, Greece)

机构地区：[1]Gastroenterology Department of Cancer Hospital Agios Savvas, Athens, Greece [2]Pathology Department of Cancer Hospital Agios Savvas, Athens, Greece

出　　处：《Open Journal of Gastroenterology》2024年第11期395-401,共7页肠胃病学期刊（英文）

摘　　要：Introduction: Herpetic esophagitis (HE) is an esophageal infection caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV). It commonly occurs in immunosuppressive patients but rarely affects immunocompetent people. It presents with odynophagia, dysphagia and/or retrosternal pain. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with biopsy is essential to establish the diagnosis. Case Description: This is a rare case of a patient who presented to our endoscopic department complaining of epigastric pain, gradual worsening of odynophagia and mild dysphagia within one month with a medical history of hypercholesterinemia and hypertension. He had no history of immunosuppression, or any risk factor for HE such as malnutrition, excessive alcohol consumption or use of corticosteroids, not even gastroesophageal reflux disease. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed, revealing multiple erosions and ulcers at distal esophagus. Biopsies from the margins of the ulcers and PCR led to the diagnosis of herpetic esophagitis. Due to the severe symptoms, despite the immunocompetent status treatment of acyclovir was administrated leading to a gradual improvement of the symptoms. Conclusion: This case highlights that HE could exist in an immunocompetent patient despite the rarity of occurrence and therefore physicians should have a high level of suspicion to make the diagnosis.Introduction: Herpetic esophagitis (HE) is an esophageal infection caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV). It commonly occurs in immunosuppressive patients but rarely affects immunocompetent people. It presents with odynophagia, dysphagia and/or retrosternal pain. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with biopsy is essential to establish the diagnosis. Case Description: This is a rare case of a patient who presented to our endoscopic department complaining of epigastric pain, gradual worsening of odynophagia and mild dysphagia within one month with a medical history of hypercholesterinemia and hypertension. He had no history of immunosuppression, or any risk factor for HE such as malnutrition, excessive alcohol consumption or use of corticosteroids, not even gastroesophageal reflux disease. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed, revealing multiple erosions and ulcers at distal esophagus. Biopsies from the margins of the ulcers and PCR led to the diagnosis of herpetic esophagitis. Due to the severe symptoms, despite the immunocompetent status treatment of acyclovir was administrated leading to a gradual improvement of the symptoms. Conclusion: This case highlights that HE could exist in an immunocompetent patient despite the rarity of occurrence and therefore physicians should have a high level of suspicion to make the diagnosis.

关 键 词：Herpetic ESOPHAGITIS IMMUNOCOMPETENT Risk Factors 

分 类 号：R57[医药卫生—消化系统]