Herpes simplex esophagitis in immunocompetent patients: a rare entity to consider.

Abstract

We present the case of a 42-year-old man with no relevant medical history who presented with dysphagia, odynophagia, and fever of several weeks’ duration. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed, from the cervical oesophagus to the oesophagogastric junction, multiple small, superficial, fibrin-covered ulcers, mostly millimetric and round in shape, interspersed with linear and larger lesions (up to approximately 20 mm). In the lower third, the ulcers were confluent and slightly deeper, involving almost the entire circumference of the oesophagus. Biopsy samples were obtained for microbiological and histopathological analysis, which confirmed the diagnosis of herpes simplex infection.

Keywords: oesophagitis, herpes simplex, immunocompetent.