CMV enteritis causing ileal perforation in underlying lupus enteritis

We report a case of cytomegalovirus (CMV) enteritis in a 31 year-old -woman with lupus enteritis. In August 2002 the patient complained of severe abdominal pain. An abdominopelvic CT scan at the time showed free air in the peritoneal cavity and wall thickening of the ileal loop. She was diagnosed as having panperitonitis due to an ileal perforation, and underwent an emergency laparotomy. The surgical specimen revealed CMV inclusion bodies in the infarcted lesion. Her symptoms improved following the initiation of ganciclovir therapy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in the English literature of an ileal perforation due to CMV infection in a patient with lupus enteritis.