Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Correspondence
  • Published:

Herpes simplex virus pneumonia during standard induction chemotherapy for acute leukemia: case report and review of literature

Leukemia volume 19, pages 2019–2021 (2005)Cite this article

TO THE EDITOR

Reactivation of latent HSV is the most common viral infection in patients during the profound neutropenia that occurs during remission induction in patients with lymphoma and acute leukemia and during the conditioning phase of bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Symptomatic HSV infection occurs in the first 2–3 weeks after BMT, when mucosal damage is maximal as a consequence of the radiotherapy and chemotherapy used for conditioning.1 The most common clinical manifestation is oral ulceration, often necrotic and long lasting, which may complicate with oesophagitis, but reactivation of genital HSV may also occur, although less frequently. HSV-1 pneumonitis may follow oral or genital HSV either from contiguous spread from the oropharynx, or hematogenous dissemination. Prophylaxis of HSV infection with acyclovir has contributed to the decreased prevalence of HSV pneumonitis to less than 2% of BM recipients.1

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1

References

  1. Ljungman P . Prevention and treatment of viral infections in stem cell transplant recipients. Br J Haematol 2002; 118: 44–57.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Hughes WT, Armstrong D, Bodey GP, Bow EJ, Brown AE, Calandra T et al. 2002 guidelines for the use of antimicrobial agents in neutropenic patients with cancer. Clin Infect Dis 2002; 34: 730–751.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Wirth K, Fetscher S, Neumann-Haefelin D, Herget GW, Lubbert M . Lethal systemic herpes simplex virus type 1 infection during chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Br J Haematol 1999; 104: 197–198.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Umans U, Golding RP, Duraku S, Manoliu RA . Herpes simplex virus 1 pneumonia: conventional chest radiograph pattern. Eur Radiol 2001; 11: 990–994.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Aquino SL, Dunagan DP, Chiles C, Haponik EF . Herpes simplex virus 1 pneumonia: patterns on CT scans and conventional chest radiographs. J Comput Assist Tomogr 1998; 22: 795–800.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Potenza L, Luppi M, Morselli M, Tonelli S, D'Apollo N, Facchini L et al. Leukaemic pulmonary infiltrates in adult acute myeloid leukaemia: a high-resolution computerized tomography study. Br J Haematol 2003; 120: 1058–1061.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. James E, Robinson L, Griffiths PD, Prentice HG . Acute myeloblastic leukaemia presenting with herpes simplex type-1 viraemia and pneumonia. Br J Haematol 1996; 93: 401–402.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Kitabayashi A, Hirokawa M, Horiuchi T, Kawabata Y, Miura AB . Late-onset herpes simplex virus-associated interstitial pneumonia after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Bone Marrow Transplant 2000; 25: 225–226.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oncology and Hematology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

    A Ferrari, M Luppi, L Potenza, G Riva, M Morselli, A Imovilli, F Volzone & G Torelli

  2. Department of Pathology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

    G Rossi

  3. Infectious Disease Clinic, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

    M Codeluppi & G Guaraldi

Authors
  1. A Ferrari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M Luppi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. L Potenza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. G Riva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. M Morselli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. A Imovilli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. F Volzone
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. G Rossi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. M Codeluppi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. G Guaraldi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. G Torelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M Luppi.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ferrari, A., Luppi, M., Potenza, L. et al. Herpes simplex virus pneumonia during standard induction chemotherapy for acute leukemia: case report and review of literature. Leukemia 19, 2019–2021 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2403893

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2403893

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links