Delhi Reports Five Cases Of Cytomegalovirus Related Rectal Bleeding In COVID-19 Patients

Cytomegalovirus (CVM) cases in Delhi: The first report of five cases of Cytomegalovirus (CVM) related rectal bleeding in COVID-19 patients has been reported at a hospital in Delhi.

The cases were reported at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi and are the first reported cases of CVM related rectal bleeding in COVID-19 immunocompetent (having a normal immune response) patients in the country.

Prof. Anil Arora, who is the chairman of the Institute of Liver Gastroenterology and Pancreaticobiliary Sciences at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said that they have seen five cases of CMV infection during the second wave of the COVID-19 in April-May this year in COVID-19 patients who have a normal immune response. He said that the patients came with a complaint of abdomen pain and bleeding in stools and were diagnosed with COVID-19 about 20 to 30 days ago.

Delhi: First report of five cases of Cytomegalovirus (CVM) related rectal bleeding in COVID immunocompetent patients

"These patients came with abdominal pain & bleeding in stools with nearly 20-30 days after the diagnosis of COVID," says Prof Anil Arora of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital pic.twitter.com/xQE2cbWPgB

— ANI (@ANI) June 29, 2021

The cases were in the age group of 30 to 70 years in which four of them had complaints of lower gastrointestinal bleeding, that is bleeding in stools. One of the patients was suffering from intestinal obstruction, which is a blockage of the large intestine preventing the passage of fluids and digested food. Two of the five patients had massive bleeding and one required emergency life-saving surgery to remove the right side of the colon, while one of them succumbed due to massive bleeding and severe COVID-19 chest disease.

Dr Arora said that the other three out of five patients were treated successfully with antiviral therapy with ganciclovir. Dr Sunil Jain, who is the Senior Consultant Pathologist at the same hospital said that Cytomegalovirus Colitis was confirmed by the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) testing for the presence of CMV virus and tissue biopsy from the large intestine.

Dr Praveen Sharma, who is a Senior Consultant of the Gastroenterology department of the hospital said that in such cases of high index of suspicion and timely intervention in the form of an early diagnosis and effective antiviral therapy can save many precious lives. Cytomegalovirus reportedly exists in 80 to 90 per cent of Indians in asymptomatic form, and symptoms of CMV is usually seen in patients whose immunity is compromised.