Successful treatment of massive lower gastrointestinal bleeding caused by mixed infection of cytomegalovirus and mucormycosis in a renal transplant recipient.

We describe a case of lower gastrointestinal bleeding due to mixed infection of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and mucormycosis in a renal transplant recipient. A 33-year-old male received renal transplantation and his clinical course was uneventful. On the 18th postoperative day, acute rejection was developed and this was treated with high-dose methylprednisolone and OKT3. During antirejection treatment, sudden onset massive hematochezia was developed. Emergency colonofibroscopy revealed multiple colonic ulcers and pathologic findings were consistent with mucormycosis and CMV infection. The patient was successfully treated with amphotericin B (1.0-1.5 mg/kg) and ganciclovir (62.5-125 mg/day) for 5 weeks. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing coexistence of mucormycosis and CMV in the colon ulcer base. This finding suggests that CMV infection may trigger fungal infection in the pathogenesis of colonic ulcer. Copyright 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel