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CASE REPORT
Fever of unknown origin: a challenging case
  1. Sarah Vella1,
  2. Bernard Coleiro2,
  3. Charles Mallia Azzopardi3
  1. 1 Medicine, Mater Dei Hospital, Msida, Malta
  2. 2 Rheumatology, Mater Dei Hospital, Msida, Malta
  3. 3 Infectious Diseases, Mater Dei Hospital, Msida, Malta
  1. Correspondence to Dr Sarah Vella, smv2610{at}gmail.com

Summary

We report a case of Cogan’s syndrome presenting as fever of unknown origin in a 31-year-old woman who was admitted to the hospital with a 7-week history of fever, night sweats and other constitutional symptoms. The diagnosis remained elusive despite numerous investigations, and the patient subsequently developed rash, episcleritis, dizziness and sensorineural hearing loss. While initially thought to be a postinflammatory response to a previous infection, confirmation of the rash as a vasculitis together with the audiovestibular and ocular involvement led to a clinical diagnosis of Cogan’s syndrome. This was further corroborated by resolution of her symptoms once immunosuppressive therapy was instituted. Early recognition of Cogan’s syndrome is crucial to reducing the risk of serious complications through the timely initiation of treatment.

  • biological agents
  • vasculitis
  • ophthalmology

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Footnotes

  • Contributors SV was responsible for the literature review and manuscript preparation. BC and CMA contributed towards review and editing of the final manuscript.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient consent Obtained.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.