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
Causes
The cause is currently unknown although speculation centers on host immune response - particularly the cyclical release of cytokines, lymph node necrosis, and damaged stomal cells. [3]
Treatment
Treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents or treatment of the underlying Hodgkin's (usually with chemotherapy) will help the symptoms. [1]
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.
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]
References
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- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "eMedicine - Pel-Ebstein Fever : Article by Ephraim P Hochberg, MD". Retrieved 2007-07-08.
- ↑ Ree, HJ (1987). "Stromal macrophage-histiocytes in Hodgkin's disease. Their relation to fever". Cancer. 60 (1479).
- ↑ 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. Retrieved 2008-03-18.. They cite Richard Asher's lecture Making Sense (Lancet, 1959, 2, 359)
