Copyright
©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 28, 2015; 21(8): 2542-2545
Published online Feb 28, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i8.2542
Published online Feb 28, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i8.2542
Catastrophic gastrointestinal complication of systemic immunosuppression
Lyn Alexandra Smith, Daniel R Gaya, Gastroenterology Unit, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, G4 0SF Glasgow, United Kingdom
Mitali Gangopadhyay, Department of Pathology, Southern General Hospital Glasgow, G51 4TF Glasgow, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Smith LA, Gaya DR and Gangopadhyay M contributed to the writing of the manuscript; Smith LA and Gaya DR provided the endoscopic images; and Gangopadhyay M provided the histological images.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Daniel R Gaya, Consultant Gastroenterologist, Gastroenterology Unit, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Castle Street, G4 0SF Glasgow, United Kingdom. daniel.gaya@nhs.net
Telephone: +44-141-2114290 Fax: +44-141-2115162
Received: July 4, 2014
Peer-review started: July 5, 2014
First decision: July 21, 2014
Revised: August 4, 2014
Accepted: November 19, 2014
Article in press: November 19, 2014
Published online: February 28, 2015
Peer-review started: July 5, 2014
First decision: July 21, 2014
Revised: August 4, 2014
Accepted: November 19, 2014
Article in press: November 19, 2014
Published online: February 28, 2015
Core Tip
Core tip: Viral infection of the gastrointestinal tract is a recognised complication of immunosuppression and in severe cases can lead to gastrointestinal haemorrhage. Although uncommon, synchronous infection with more than one viral agent is possible. Clinicians should have a low threshold for suspecting viral aetiology of mucosal inflammation and ulceration in immunosupressed patients and consider empirical antiviral therapy in immunosupressed patients.