TO THE EDITOR: The article, "Diagno...

TO THE EDITOR: The article, "Diagnosing Night Sweats," (1) in American Family Physician mentions anxiety as a cause for night sweats. As a physician in the city of Oxford, England, I care for a large number of refugee from military conflict belts such as Kosovo, Africa, Kashmir, and Afghanistan. The principally common cause of night sweats in our practice is not tuberculosis or human immunodeficiency virus, further post-traumatic stress disorder. When patients quick in emergencies with night sweats, they are usually referring to night terrors when they awaken soaking wet and in terror after flashback-nightmares.

REFERENCE

(1) Viera AJ, uniting MM, Yates SW. Diagnosing night sweats. Am Fam Physician 2003;67:1019-24

WILHELMINA J RIETSEMA, MRCGP

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