DOI: https://doi.org/10.36347/sjmcr.2025.v13i10.113

Pages: 2653-2656

We report the case of a 30-year-old patient with Crohn's disease undergoing long-term corticosteroid therapy and immunosuppressants, hospitalized for status epilepticus. The examination revealed viral encephalitis due to co-infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV), diagnosed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) despite normal cytology and biochemistry. The patient was also seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with a high viral load, as well as bacterial co-infections (pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Moraxella catarrhalis, bacteremia caused by non-typhoidal Salmonella). Under appropriate antiviral and antibiotic treatment, progress was slow, with no significant clinical improvement observed. This case illustrates the importance of PCR in the diagnosis of opportunistic infections of the central nervous system (CNS) and highlights the severity of multiple co-infections revealing severe HIV-related immunodeficiency.