[font=Tahoma][size=3]I need a little help here for a coworker and our local medical staff. He has developed a mystery illness that now has him in the hospital. The guy is in his mid 30's, non-smoker, light drinker, married with kids and no other family members have symptoms. The subject works nights (7pm-7am) with some warehouse dock work and driving a set of tractor trailers about 90 miles each way. He has been out of work for nearly a month now with what started as an ear infection. He took various antibiotics while seeing a doctor and a specialist. He has no idea where it came from origionally. I thought he may have picked something up from a lake as there are some amobea like illness in Florida during the summer but he has not been near one. After three weeks he was admited to the hospital on Monday but seems to be going down hill fast and may not make it. They started him with one IV for an ear fungus and another for antibiotics. A day later he sounded like he had a gallon of fluid in his lungs as reported from one of our guys who called him. Another of our guys paid him a visit on Wednesday and his feet are swelling up pretty bad he said. Now they are finding spots on his lungs and his voice box that were not there before. Two of our management went to see him last night & report that he looks real bad and can not get out of bed now. There is still no diagnosis of what he has or why he is getting worse. Does anyone have any ideas that I can shoot their way for possible treatment?[/size][/font]

Im so sorry to hear that this is happening to him

i dont know what could be wrong with him but he has my deepest sympothy and ill be sure to pray for him.

Could be many things happening here and to not know what he already may have been tested for makes it even more complicated. Have you made calls to other facilities and or doctors yet?

You'll have to provide a bit more information here. What medical tests have been conducted so far? Has anything abnormal been found (include even the seemingly trivial)? Does he have a fever, rash, jaundice, any discoloration of the skin, tremors or loss of coordination, loss of awareness, numbness or loss of sensation, joint or muscle pain, or headaches? There are so many bases to cover when you enter the realm of health. Every single bit of information you have about his situation should be disclosed if we are to be of real assistance.

UPDATE

Sorry I have not been back but work has been busy and there has been no new news. It looks like the have finally figured it out. Most likely Wegener's granulomatosis is the diaganosis. Almost 2 weeks in the hospital to figure it out and it is a rare one. Our hospital is a top rated one but he is going to be transfered to a teaching/level1 trauma center at the university. He is supposed to undergo 3-6 month of agressive treatment and then taper off. The total treatment time may be 2 years. Here is some background I have dug up on it.

"The incidence is 10 cases per million per year. 90% of the patients are white. While it mainly occurs in the middle-aged, it has been reported in much younger and older patients.

Prognosis

25 to 40% of patients suffer from flare-ups, but a majority respond well to treatment. Anatomical problems (sinusitis, tracheal stenosis) may require surgery in a small proportion. Relapses can be long and troublesome. Long-term complications are very common (86%): mainly chronic renal failure, hearing loss and deafness

Treatment

Before steroid treatment became available, mortality within one year was over 90%, with average survival being 5 months. Steroids prolonged average survival to 8 months. The introduction of cyclophosphamide (CYC) in the 1970s was a major breakthrough.

Initial treatment is generally with corticosteroids and oral cyclophosphamide (CYC), 1 mg/kg/day and 2 mg/kg/day respectively. Occasionally CYC is given in monthly intravenous (IV) doses. Monitoring of the white blood count is essential during CYC therapy. Once remission is attained (normally 3 to 6 months), treatment is frequently changed to azathioprine or methotrexate, which are less toxic drugs. Total duration of therapy should be at least 1 year, or longer in high risk patients. Corticosteroids are tapered to a low maintenance dose, 5-10 mg/day. Plasmapheresis may be beneficial in severe disease or pulmonary hemorrhage. Experience with other treatment agents is very limited."