Context: Cytomegalovirus (CMV)-induced pancreatitis in patients with AIDS is a known entity with poor prognosis.
Case report: We report a case of a 43-year-old woman with AIDS and CMV viremia who was evaluated for hypotension and found to have severe necrotizing pancreatitis. The authors have also conducted a MEDLINE search for CMV-induced pancreatitis from 1980 to 2012 and reviewed the pertinent results.
Discussion: Until mid-1990s in the United States, pancreatitis due to CMV was mainly diagnosed at autopsy in AIDS patients. However, presumably due to the advent of antiretroviral therapy, there has since been a significant decline in the number of reported cases among these individuals. Rather, our review revealed that the occurrence of CMV-induced pancreatitis has since been described in a variety of clinical settings, ranging from patients on corticosteroid therapy to immunocompetent persons.
Conclusions: Clinicians need a high index of suspicion to timely diagnose CMV-induced pancreatitis as patients often present with non-specific signs and symptoms. As it occurred in our case, early intervention is crucial and may alter the outcome in such patients.