Pel-Ebstein fever
| Pel-Ebstein fever | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
| eMedicine | med/1770 |
Pel-Ebstein fever is a rarely seen condition noted in patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma in which the patient experiences fevers which cyclicly increase then decrease over an average period of one or two weeks.[1] A cyclic fever may also be associated with other conditions, but it is not called "Pel-Ebstein fever" unless the fever is associated with Hodgkin's.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Causes
The cause is currently unknown although speculation centers on host immune response - particularly the cyclical release of cytokines, lymph node necrosis, and damaged stromal cells.[3]
[edit] Treatment
Treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents or treatment of the underlying Hodgkin's (usually with chemotherapy) will help the symptoms.[1]
[edit] Eponym
The condition is named after Wilhelm Ebstein and P.K. Pel who both published papers in 1887 noting the phenomenon.[4][5][6] Both doctors published in the same journal, though Pel published first by several months. Interestingly, a long-term dispute persisted between Pel and Ebstein on the etiology of the condition.
[edit] Controversy
Researchers have speculated whether this condition truly exists, since some authorities anecdotally estimate only a 5-10% occurrence rate.[2] In his Lettsomian Lecture Making Sense, delivered to the Medical Society of London in 1959, Richard Asher refers to Pel-Ebstein fever as an example of a condition that exists only because it has a name. "Every student and every doctor knows that cases of Hodgkin's disease may show a fever that is high for one week and low for the next week and so on. Does this phenomenon really exist at all?..." [7]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Mauch, Peter; James Armitage, Volker Diehl, Richard Hoppe, Laurence Weiss (1999). Hodgkin's Disease. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp. 327–328. ISBN 0-7817-1502-4.
- ^ a b "eMedicine - Pel-Ebstein Fever : Article by Ephraim P Hochberg, MD". http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic1770.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
- ^ Ree, HJ (1987). "Stromal macrophage-histiocytes in Hodgkin's disease. Their relation to fever". Cancer 60 (1479): 1479–84. doi:10.1002/1097-0142(19871001)60:7<1479::AID-CNCR2820600713>3.0.CO;2-G. PMID 3621125.
- ^ Ebstein, Wilhelm (1887). "Das chronische Ruckfallsfieber, eine neue Infectionskrankheit". Berlin Klin Wochenschr 24 (565).
- ^ Pel, PK (1887). "Pseudoleukaemie oder chronisches Ruckfallsfieber?". Berlin Klin Wochenschr 24 (565).
- ^ synd/438 at Who Named It?
- ^ Hilson, A.J.W.; DiNubile, M.J. (1995-07-06). "Correspondence". New England Journal of Medicine 333 (1): 66–67. doi:10.1056/NEJM199507063330118. PMID 7777006. http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/333/1/66. Retrieved 2008-03-18.. They cite Richard Asher's lecture Making Sense (Lancet, 1959, 2, 359)
