title: Hypereosinophilia in a Young Patient: Occam's Razor or Hickam's Dictum?
abstract: Hypereosinophilia is an uncommon clinical problem encountered in hematology practice. While most of such cases are secondary or reactive, a significant fraction of cases are due to clonal myeloproliferative disorders. We report a young patient who presented with marked hypereosinophilia and was investigated extensively for its cause. Finally a common tropical infection was responsible for such marked eosinophilia fulfilling the principle of Occam's razor. The case emphasizes the need to search for treatable reactive causes even in presence of marked hypereosinophilia in a tropical country.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, 160012 India.
authors.forename: Arjun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lakshman
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, 160012 India.
authors.forename: Ram V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Nampoothiri
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, 160012 India.
authors.forename: Arjun Datt
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Law
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, 160012 India.
authors.forename: Pankaj
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Malhotra
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, 160012 India.
authors.forename: Subhash C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Varma
keywords: Giardiasis; Marked hypereosinophilia; Myeloproliferative disorder; Occam’s razor