Endoscopic diagnosis of cytomegalovirus gastritis after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

AIM: To clarify the endoscopic and clinical findings of cytomegalovirus (CMV) gastritis after allogeneic hema-topoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT). METHODS: Between 1999 and 2005, 523 patients underwent allo-SCT at our hospital, and 115 of these patients with gastrointestinal symptoms underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy. RESULTS: CMV gastritis was diagnosed pathologically in seven patients (1.3%) with the other 108 patients serving as controls. Six of the seven patients devel-oped positive CMV antigenemia, and five complained of abdominal pain. Development of abdominal pain preceded CMV antigenemia in four of the five patients. Endoscopic examination showed oozing (n = 2), erosion (n = 6), and redness (n = 5) in the seven patients with CMV gastritis, while the control patients showed oozing (n = 3), erosion (n = 24), and redness (n = 100). Ero-sion and oozing were more frequently documented in patients with CMV gastritis compared with the controls, and the differences were statistically significant (P = 0.0012 and 0.029, respectively). CMV inclusion bodies were documented in 12 of 14 biopsy specimens ob-tained from erosive lesions, while they were identified in 4 of 15 biopsy specimens obtained from lesions other than erosions (P = 0.0025). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that erosion and oozing, as well as abdominal pain, are useful indicators in the diagnosis of CMV gastritis following allo-SCT.