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 refugees from military conflict zones such as Kosovo, Africa, Kashmir, and Afghanistan. The most common cause of night sweats in our practice is not tuberculosis or human immunodeficiency virus, but post-traumatic stress disorder. When patients present with night sweats, they are usually referring to night terrors when they awaken soaking wet and in terror after flashback-nightmares.
Letters to the Editor
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder As a Cause of Night Sweats
WILHELMINA J. RIETSEMA, MRCGP,
60 Glebelands, Oxford, OX3 7EN United Kingdom
American Family Physician. 2003;68(5):806.
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This series is coordinated by Kenny Lin, MD, MPH, deputy editor.
