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Treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), particularly ulcerative colitis (UC), with immunosuppressive agents can reactivate cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, which might then contribute to disease flare and necessitate antiviral therapy. In the present study, researchers explored whether measuring the amount of CMV DNA in inflamed bowel tissue, using polymerase chain reaction, could help predict response to immunosuppressive therapy.
The study involved 42 patients who were hospitalized with moderate-to-severe flare-ups of UC; 22 were receiving mesalamine, and 15 were receiving azathioprine. None had received oral steroids for >1 week or had been treated with intravenous steroids or other immunosuppressive agents. All underwent endoscopy wit…