Nischala Ammannagari

Lemierre's syndrome is an uncommon, but fatal infection of the internal jugular vein (IJV) that is usually caused by Fusobacteirum necrophorum although a wide range of bacteria has been reported as causative agents. Typical symptoms include fever, sore throat, neck swelling, pulmonary symptoms and arthralgia; however, the diagnosis of this infection is frequently overlooked as initial manifestation might be subtle and non-specific. Definite diagnosis requires positive blood culture and radiological evidence of thrombus in the IJV. We describe a case of a patient with Lemierre's syndrome who was initially misdiagnosed with viral upper respiratory tract infection. High index of suspicion is pivotal to the diagnosis of this infection and Lemierre's syndrome should always be considered as a potential cause of sepsis in an otherwise healthy patient.

Primary pancreatic lymphoma (PPL) is an extremely rare non-epithelial tumor constituting far less than 1% of all pancreatic neoplasm. Clinical and imaging findings are otherwise non-specific in differentiation of pancreatic lymphoma from other pancreatic cancers. Herein, we report a case of PPL presenting as multiple masses in the pancreatic head, body and tail.

Duodenal varices are an uncommon, life-threatening cause of acute gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding commonly caused by portal hypertension. Though generally regarded as a complication of advanced cirrhosis and portal hypertension, often overlooked is that in about 2.7% of cases, it can be the first presenting symptom of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We report a case of an isolated, duodenal variceal bleeding as the first clinical manifestation of HCC, complicated by portal venous thrombosis. Diagnosis of HCC was established by a markedly elevated α-fetoprotein, hepatitis B surface and core antibody positivity and consistent radiological findings. Although not the first choice, variceal bleeding was successfully arrested with endoclips. The patient thereafter declined further evaluation and unsurprisingly died within a few weeks from a massive GI bleed. An initial bleed from a duodenal varix often confers a poor prognosis. Patients with HCC who present with variceal bleeding reportedly have a median survival of 71 days.