PARVOVIRUS INFECTION AND GENERALIZED EDEMA IN ADULTS

We describe the clinical and laboratory findings of 7 adult patients w ith serological evidence of recent human parvovirus B19 (HPV) infectio n who presented with generalized edema. Six of the 7 patients had hous ehold contact with children with erythema infectiosum and had flu-like symptoms before visiting hospital. The interval between the flu-like episode and the development of edema ranged from 4 to 13 days (mean 7. 0). In all 7 patients, there was serological confirmation of recent HP V infection, and all showed the development of edema following HPV inf ection without urine abnormalities or anemia. Two patients presented h ypocomplementemia, and two patients showed signs of congestive heart f ailure. HPV may be considered a causative agent of generalized edema n ot only in the fetus but also in adults and HPV infection should be in cluded in the differential diagnosis of generalized edema formation.