Melioidosis masquerading as malignancy in tropical Australia; lessons for clinicians and implications for clinical management

We present a case series of 7 patients from tropical Australia whom local clinicians initially believed to have cancer ‒ most commonly lung cancer ‒ only for further investigation to establish a diagnosis of melioidosis. All 7 patients had comorbidities that predisposed them to developing melioidosis and all survived, but their delayed diagnosis resulted in 3 receiving anti-cancer therapies that resulted in significant morbidity. The study emphasises the importance of thorough diagnostic evaluation and repeated collection of microbiological samples. It is hoped that our experience will encourage other clinicians ‒ in the appropriate clinical context ‒ to consider melioidosis as a potential explanation for a patient's presentation, expediting its diagnosis and the initiation of potentially life-saving therapy.PMID:38599443 | DOI:10.1016/j.actatropica.2024.107209

Source: Acta Tropica - April 10, 2024 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Kelly Baker Ty Duncan Samantha Kung Simon Smith Josh Hanson Source Type: research