Norovirus gastroenteritis in immunocompromised patients.

Copyright © 2012 Massachusetts Medical Society. Infectious gastroenteritis is a common, acute illness that is characteristically self-limiting, but it can become debilitating and life-threatening in immunocompromised patients.1 Noroviruses are major pathogens among the microbes associated with gastroenteritis in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts1-4 (Table 1). In the United States, noroviruses are the single most common cause of acute gastroenteritis in adults that results in a visit to the hospital emergency department,2 and they are second only to rotaviruses as a major cause of severe diarrhea in infants and young children.5 In developing countries, noroviruses are estimated to cause more than 200,000 deaths annually among children younger than 5 years of age, and it is predicted that these viruses will become the predominant cause of diarrhea in all age groups worldwide once rotavirus infection is controlled through vaccination.6 Noroviruses are increasingly recognized as an important cause of chronic gastroenteritis in immunocompromised patients, as reflected by the growing number of clinical case reports.7-9 A comparison of the known features of norovirus gastroenteritis in immunocompetent versus immunocompromised hosts highlights the potentially serious outcome of this illness in persons who cannot adequately clear the virus (Table 2). The purpose of this review is to summarize recent developments in norovirus research that are relevant to the prevention and management of norovirus gastroenteritis in immunocompromised patients.