title: Lesson of the month 2: Against all odds.
abstract: When a patient who suffers from a serious underlying disease with an ever-present potential for recurrence or progression deteriorates, other alternative diagnoses (even treatable ones) are frequently not considered. However, these patients are often immunosuppressed, which makes them susceptible to reactivation of latent viral or tuberculosis infections. Three brief cases are presented to stress the importance of looking for unsuspected, treatable herpes virus infections in these settings and the relevant cognitive aspects of misdiagnosis are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Hebrew University and Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel amischatt@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ami
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schattner
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000150:complications; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D015451:Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / Q000150:complications; D012008:Recurrence
keywords: Cancer; differential diagnosis; herpes virus; immunosuppression; lymphoma; tuberculosis; ulcerative colitis