A 16-year-old male undergoing chemotherapy treatment for recurrent Hodgkin's disease. During the course of this treatment, the patient showed signs of digestive haemorrhage (melenas), accompanied by an intense elevation of transaminases and a significant alteration in blood coagulation tests (protombin activity). The patient died a few days later due to acute liver failure, with signs of encephalopathy and massive gastrointestinal haemorrhage.
At necropsy, diffuse liver damage was observed, accompanied by focal lesions in the lower third of the oesophagus. The histological study showed, in both organs, an inflammatory lesion of necrotising character, showing cytopathic changes typical of herpetic infection, consisting of images of multinucleation and presence of Cowdry type A bodies.