The Conundrum of Septic Shock Imitators in Patients with Hematologic Cancers: Case Presentation and Possible Differential Diagnoses.

The authors describe the case of a patient treated with several cycles of chemotherapy due to an advanced stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma. One daafter the last cycle, he was admitted to our Intensive Care Unit with a septic shock-like clinical picture which didn't respond to the aggressive treatment and the patient died a few hours later. The autoptical findings cast some doubts on the diagnosis, and demonstrated the presence of other factors imitating its symptoms. In this article, the mimickers of septic shock are reviewed and discussed, as some of them require an aggressive immunosuppression instead of the recommended treatment for septic shock.

[Hyperammoniemia and central pontine myelinolysis in a patient with Sjögren syndrome and chronic valproate use]. / Iperammoniemia e mielinolisi pontina centrale in paziente con sindrome di Sjögren ed assunzione cronica di valproato.

The authors describe a case of a drug-associated hyperammonemia, central pontine myelinolysis and coma occurring in a patient with Sjögren's syndrome chronically treated with valproic acid for an underlying psychotic disorder. The possible differential diagnoses are reviewed and discussed.