Current Status of Cytomegalovirus Colitis Among Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease in China: A Questionnaire-Based Multicenter Study

BACKGROUND: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) causes infection in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study investigated the prevalence of CMV colitis, the current status of laboratory testing equipment, and physicians' opinions regarding CMV and IBD in China. METHODS: This retrospective multicenter study was conducted by Chinese members of the Asian Organization for Crohn's and Colitis and included 36 hospitals/institutes divided according to municipality, provincial capital city, and prefectural-level city. A survey questionnaire was administered, and chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were performed. RESULTS: A total of 4823 inpatients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 4622 inpatients with Crohn's disease (CD) were included. The percentages of patients with moderate UC in the provincial capital city and municipality were significantly higher than that in the prefectural-level city (38.3% vs 29.1% and 40.1% vs 29.1%, respectively). The percentage of patients with mild CD was significantly lower in the provincial capital city than in the prefectural-level city and municipality (30.4% vs 40.3%; 30.4% vs 39.3%, respectively). There were 3.1% patients with UC and 0.8% patients with CD who had CMV colitis. The prevalence of CMV colitis was lower in patients with CD than in patients with UC (0.8% vs 3.1%). Of the 150 patients with UC and concurrent CMV colitis, 17.3% patients underwent surgery, 2.0% died, and 23.3% experienced complications. Punched-out ulcerations were the major characteristic features for detecting CMV colitis. Approximately 77.8% of hospitals possessed testing facilities capable of conducting CMV immunohistochemistry. CONCLUSIONS: CMV colitis is an important issue during the disease progression of IBD. However, improvement in knowledge and facilities is required to enhance the prognosis of patients.