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CASE REPORT article

Front. Med.
Sec. Gastroenterology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1438689
This article is part of the Research Topic Gastrointestinal Tract Infections: A Global Perspective View all 17 articles

Coinfection of Cytomegalovirus and Strongyloidiasis presenting as massive gastrointestinal bleeding in an immunocompromised host: A case report

Provisionally accepted
Nguyen H. Thanh Nguyen H. Thanh 1Mai T. Hoai Mai T. Hoai 2Quy Khoa Quy Khoa 1Vo T. Mai Vo T. Mai 1Dinh T. Nga Dinh T. Nga 2*Pham M. Quang Pham M. Quang 2Nguyen C. Binh Nguyen C. Binh 2*Duong T. Tuyet Duong T. Tuyet 2*Nguyen L. Tung Nguyen L. Tung 2*Thai D. Ky Thai D. Ky 2*
  • 1 College of Health Sciences, Vin University, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • 2 Department of Gastroenterology, 108 Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is an opportunistic disease in immunocompromised patients that may appear without symptoms, with constitutional symptoms, or as a tissue-invasive disease. Strongyloides stercoralis infection often manifests with nonspecific symptoms; however, it can lead to severe malabsorption and extraintestinal dissemination by accelerated autoinfection. The coinfection of CMV and Strongyloides stercoralis has rarely been reported, particularly with solely severe gastrointestinal bleeding. A 29-year-old female patient with a history of nephrotic syndrome treated with long-term corticosteroid and poorly controlled type 2 diabetes presented with a 20-day history of persistent epigastric pain, diarrhea, and significant weight loss. At the hospitalization, the patient appeared to have persistent gastrointestinal bleeding, leading to hypovolemic shock and diabetic ketoacidosis. Strongyloides stercoralis was detected by the duodenal biopsy results, and the PCR of these samples was positive with CMV. The patient underwent upper endoscopy four times to control the bleeding and received treatment with ivermectin and ganciclovir. The patient improved gradually and was discharged after 4 weeks of hospitalization. The coinfection of CMV and Strongyloides stercoralis causing massive GI bleeding has been rarely reported. To our knowledge, this is also the first case of coinfection of these pathogens in an immunocompromised patient complicated with hypovolemic shock caused by GI bleeding and diabetic ketoacidosis.Clinicians should have a high index of suspicion and test simultaneously CMV and Strongyloides stercoralis in patients with immunosuppression, other risk factors, or unexplained gastrointestinal symptoms.

    Keywords: Cytomegalovirus, Strongyloidiasis, Coinfection, gastrointestinal bleeding, Immunocompromised Host, A case report

    Received: 26 May 2024; Accepted: 04 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Thanh, Hoai, Khoa, Mai, Nga, Quang, Binh, Tuyet, Tung and Ky. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Dinh T. Nga, Department of Gastroenterology, 108 Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam
    Nguyen C. Binh, Department of Gastroenterology, 108 Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam
    Duong T. Tuyet, Department of Gastroenterology, 108 Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam
    Nguyen L. Tung, Department of Gastroenterology, 108 Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam
    Thai D. Ky, Department of Gastroenterology, 108 Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam

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