A syndrome of acute self-limiting ulcerative esophagitis in young adults probably due to herpes simplex virus.

Five healthy young adults developed an acute self-limiting ulcerative esophagitis. Two had definite evidence of herpes virus being present and a third one had appropriate changes in herpes simplex viral titer. All cases followed a characteristic and similar course consisting of sudden onset of odynophagia, multiple discrete small ulcers in the esophagus and herpetiform lesions elsewhere in the skin or mouth. Although most previous reports of herpes esophagitis indicate that it is an "opportunistic" infection in debilitated hosts, the present report indicates that this infection, in patients who are otherwise well, may occur more frequently than one would have previously suspected. Therefore, herpes simplex virus should be considered as a possible etiological agent in the differential diagnosis in patients presenting with a sudden onset of odynophagia.