Herpes simplex in oral ulcers in neutropenic patients

We undertook a prospective study to examine the role of herpes simplex virus in oral ulcers in 43 neutropenic patients. Two were neutropenic due to their disease, aplastic anaemia in one and myelodysplasia in the other. The remaining 41 had been rendered neutropenic during chemotherapy for their underlying acute leukaemia or lymphoma