Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology · 1995 · 51 citations · 0 references
MedicineInfectious DiseasesPathologyGastroenterologyNeuroinfectious DiseasesVirologyCeliac DiseaseCentral Nervous System InfectionsColonic DiseasesGastrointestinal InfectionsInfectious Disease PathophysiologyViral InfectionsGastrointestinal Viral InfectionsHemorrhagic PresentationRefractory Hodgkin LymphomaSecondary HemorrhageSurvival After Autologous TransplantationVaricella InfectionVaricella-zoster Virus InfectionsVaricella-zoster Virus Reactivation
We report a patient who had refractory Hodgkin's disease and who received an autologous bone marrow transplantation and 8 months later developed abdominal pain associated with acute colonic dilation. The course of the patient was rapidly fatal due to a lobar pneumonia. Autopsy revealed signs of disseminated herpesvirus infection with marked hemorrhagic infarction of celiac sympathetic ganglia. This finding supports the hypothesis that denervation caused by virus reactivation and secondary hemorrhage is a main mechanism of acute colonic pseudoobstruction.