Herpes zoster in Crohn's disease during treatment with infliximab

Infliximab is widely used in both inducing and maintaining remission of patients with Crohn's disease (CD). The efficacy of infliximab has been undoubtedly proven; however, various opportunistic infections have emerged. Herpes virus infections (being a type of opportunistic infection) in CD patients treated with infliximab alone with no other concomitant medications are, however, rare and have not aroused enough attention. Gastroenterologists have limited knowledge of the immunization status of patients with CD, and rarely do they take an adequate immunization history before immunosuppressive therapy. Here we report two herpes zoster (HZ) events in CD patients while using infliximab alone: in the first case, HZ occurred during the patient's 12th infusion for maintance therapy, and in the second case, HZ occurred during the patient's first course of infliximab after surgery for therapy of inducing remission. We hope to increase the gastroenterologists' awareness of this potential infection in CD patients during treatment with infliximab. (C) 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.