A patient with influenza is not improving after five days of antiviral treatment with oseltamivir. What could be the reason?
Several reasons could account for the lack of improvement. The virus may be resistant to oseltamivir, or the patient may have a complication of influenza such as secondary bacterial pneumonia. Alternatively, the patient's symptoms may not be due to influenza at all, but to another condition with similar symptoms. The patient should be re-evaluated to determine the cause of the persistent symptoms and to adjust the treatment plan as needed.