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Delay in Diagnosis of Influenza Virus in an Elderly Hospitalized Patient: a Fatal Outcome
Influenza is a well established cause of seasonal hospitalizations and deaths among older persons. However, influenza is frequently underdiagnosed by physicians, because its clinical presentations are often complex, particularly in elderly patients. We report the case of a 78-year-old woman admitted...
Autores principales: | , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Libertas Academica
2012
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257067/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22262945 http://dx.doi.org/10.4137/CCRep.S8460 |
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author | Haber, Nicole Khelili, Djamal Martineau, Delphine Dekimeche, Siham Szekely, Carol Lebon, Pierre |
author_facet | Haber, Nicole Khelili, Djamal Martineau, Delphine Dekimeche, Siham Szekely, Carol Lebon, Pierre |
author_sort | Haber, Nicole |
collection | PubMed |
description | Influenza is a well established cause of seasonal hospitalizations and deaths among older persons. However, influenza is frequently underdiagnosed by physicians, because its clinical presentations are often complex, particularly in elderly patients. We report the case of a 78-year-old woman admitted to the emergency department in January 2008 with fever, vomiting, and a history of asthenia and falls in the preceding three days. Diagnosis of influenza at admission was missed. Influenza was diagnosed by direct fluorescent antibody in a sputum specimen four days later, but the evolution was rapidly unfavorable with fatal respiratory distress syndrome. This case illustrates that, during the influenza season, influenza should be suspected in elderly patients admitted to hospital even if they do not present with classical symptoms. Immunofluorescence testing on sputum specimens can provide a rapid diagnosis and merits further evaluation. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-3257067 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2012 |
publisher | Libertas Academica |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-32570672012-01-19 Delay in Diagnosis of Influenza Virus in an Elderly Hospitalized Patient: a Fatal Outcome Haber, Nicole Khelili, Djamal Martineau, Delphine Dekimeche, Siham Szekely, Carol Lebon, Pierre Clin Med Insights Case Rep Case Report Influenza is a well established cause of seasonal hospitalizations and deaths among older persons. However, influenza is frequently underdiagnosed by physicians, because its clinical presentations are often complex, particularly in elderly patients. We report the case of a 78-year-old woman admitted to the emergency department in January 2008 with fever, vomiting, and a history of asthenia and falls in the preceding three days. Diagnosis of influenza at admission was missed. Influenza was diagnosed by direct fluorescent antibody in a sputum specimen four days later, but the evolution was rapidly unfavorable with fatal respiratory distress syndrome. This case illustrates that, during the influenza season, influenza should be suspected in elderly patients admitted to hospital even if they do not present with classical symptoms. Immunofluorescence testing on sputum specimens can provide a rapid diagnosis and merits further evaluation. Libertas Academica 2012-01-08 /pmc/articles/PMC3257067/ /pubmed/22262945 http://dx.doi.org/10.4137/CCRep.S8460 Text en © the author(s), publisher and licensee Libertas Academica Ltd. This is an open access article. Unrestricted non-commercial use is permitted provided the original work is properly cited. |
spellingShingle | Case Report Haber, Nicole Khelili, Djamal Martineau, Delphine Dekimeche, Siham Szekely, Carol Lebon, Pierre Delay in Diagnosis of Influenza Virus in an Elderly Hospitalized Patient: a Fatal Outcome |
title | Delay in Diagnosis of Influenza Virus in an Elderly Hospitalized Patient: a Fatal Outcome |
title_full | Delay in Diagnosis of Influenza Virus in an Elderly Hospitalized Patient: a Fatal Outcome |
title_fullStr | Delay in Diagnosis of Influenza Virus in an Elderly Hospitalized Patient: a Fatal Outcome |
title_full_unstemmed | Delay in Diagnosis of Influenza Virus in an Elderly Hospitalized Patient: a Fatal Outcome |
title_short | Delay in Diagnosis of Influenza Virus in an Elderly Hospitalized Patient: a Fatal Outcome |
title_sort | delay in diagnosis of influenza virus in an elderly hospitalized patient: a fatal outcome |
topic | Case Report |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257067/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22262945 http://dx.doi.org/10.4137/CCRep.S8460 |
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