Prolonged Febrile Syndrome in a Patient with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (with or without immunosuppressive treatment) have a fragile immune status that predisposes to opportunistic infections. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an opportunistic pathogen that determines a large variety of clinical syndromes especially in immunocompromised patients. In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients, his role has long been debated and it is thought that it can complicate the course of the disease. The most frequent clinical manifestation in inflammatory bowel disease patients is represented by CMV colitis, however other clinical manifestations can be met and must also be considered.

We present the case of a young male patient with ulcerative colitis that came to our attention for prolonged febrile syndrome and IBD flare, that was finally confirmed to have CMV disease.