Prevalence of Cytomegalovirus Infection in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis by Using PCR Technique

Ulcerative colitis is one type of inflammatory bowel disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of cytomegalovirus in patients with ulcerative colitis in comparison with healthy subjects by using PCR technique. Patients and In this analytical case-control study, 5 patients with ulcerative colitis and 30 patients without malignancy as controls were selected. Biopsy specimens were frozen under sterile conditions at -20ºC. After DNA extraction, analysis of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect CMV DNA in tissue samples was performed. Statistical analysis was performed with χ2 test. CMV DNA was found in 80% of ulcerative colitis samples (4 of 5) and 30% of the non-malignant control group (9 of 30). Statistical analysis showed significant association between the prevalence of CMV and incidence ulcerative colitis in comparison with the control group (P = 0.03). The results of the present study has shown ulcerative colitis patients have a predisposition to CMV infection as compared to healthy individuals, but the etiologic link between ulcerative colitis and CMV infection needs to be studied.