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Herpes simplex virus,Candida albicans and mouth ulcers in neutropenic patients with non-haematological malignancy

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  • Herpes Viruses, Candida Albicans, Mouth Ulcers, Neutropenic Patients
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Summary

Mouth ulcers are a frequent cause of morbidity in patients rendered neutropenic as a result of chemotherapy. We report here a series of 28 such patients from whom swabs were taken for viral isolation and mycological culture. In 13 patients herpes simplex virus (type I) was isolated and in 17 patientsCandida albicans was cultured. Both organisms were isolated in 9 patients. Our results suggest that both a viral and fungal element may be important in the aetiology of oral ulceration and that antiviral and antifungal agents may each have a role in the prophylaxis and treatment of such patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Imperial Cancer Research Fund Medical Oncology Unit, Western General Hospital, EH4, 2XU, Edinburgh, Scotland, U. K.

    Gerald Beattie, Jennifer Whelan & Robert Leonard

  2. Cancer Research Campaign, University Department of Medical Oncology, Glasgow, Scotland, U. K.

    James Cassidy

  3. Regional Virus Laboratory, City Hospital, Edinburgh, Scotland, U. K.

    Sheila Burns

  4. Mycology Unit, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, Scotland, U. K.

    Leslie Milne

Authors
  1. Gerald Beattie
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  2. Jennifer Whelan
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  3. James Cassidy
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  4. Leslie Milne
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  5. Sheila Burns
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  6. Robert Leonard
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Beattie, G., Whelan, J., Cassidy, J. et al. Herpes simplex virus,Candida albicans and mouth ulcers in neutropenic patients with non-haematological malignancy. Cancer Chemother. Pharmacol. 25, 75–76 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00694344

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00694344

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