Hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma in a young immunocompetent man.

Hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma (HSTCL) is a rare, aggressive type of peripheral T-cell lymphoma that is characterised by extranodal disease, with infiltration and proliferation of malignant T-cells within the liver, spleen and bone marrow. The authors report the case of a young immunocompetent man, who was admitted to the hospital with a history of prolonged, unexplained fever, fatigue and weight loss. Initial blood work showed mild pancytopaenia and imaging studies revealed hepatosplenomegaly. The diagnosis was challenging, initially mimicking infectious disease, and it required an extensive investigation that ultimately revealed the characteristic clinical, histopathological and cytogenetic features of HSTCL. The clinical course was aggressive, and despite multiagent chemotherapy, the patient died 4 months after the diagnosis. This case highlights the difficulty of diagnosing HSTCL and the importance of considering it in a differential diagnosis of hepatosplenomegaly in young men who present with constitutional symptoms and no lymphadenopathy.

Two rare manifestations of Q fever: splenic and hepatic abscesses and cerebral venous thrombosis, with literature review ma non troppo.

Q fever is a zoonosis caused by Coxiella burnetii. It often manifests as a flu-like syndrome; other common manifestations are pneumonia, hepatitis and endocarditis. Its course may be acute or chronic. The authors present two clinical cases of Q fever with rare manifestations. Case 1: A 55-year-old man admitted due to abdominal pain, diarrhoea and fever. Blood tests showed elevated transaminases, low platelets and elevated C reactive protein, with normal white cell counts; abdominal ultrasound showed splenic and hepatic abscesses. Serologies to C burnetii were positive (1:640), leading to the diagnosis of Q fever with splenic and hepatic abscesses. Case 2: A 47-year-old man admitted due to headache after sneezing, with unstable gait and vertigo. A brain tomography showed cerebral venous thrombosis. After an exhaustive investigation, antibodies to C burnetii were found and were undoubtedly positive (1:5120), leading to the diagnosis of Q fever. Both patients were treated with oral doxycycline.

Empyema necessitans: very late complication of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Empyema necessitans is a rare clinical finding nowadays. We report the case of a patient admitted in our ward for investigation of an unknown onset anterior chest wall mass, with no accompanying signs or symptoms. It is noteworthy that the patient had had pulmonary tuberculosis submitted to thoracoplasty more than 60 years before. Thoracic MRI showed a large heterogeneous mass, with a thick wall and internal septations located at the right anterior chest wall, as well as a heterogeneous content inside the right pleural cavity, with direct communication between both. An aspirative puncture of both masses was performed, with positive cultures for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, thus leading to the diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis with anterior chest wall empyema necessitans. A drain was inserted and antibiotics started. This case draws our attention to a very rare complication of pulmonary tuberculosis and its surgical treatment, though it aroused many decades after primary infection.