Occult pulmonary lymphangitic carcinomatosis presenting as 'chronic cough' with a normal HRCT chest

Abstract A diagnosis of ‘chronic cough’ (CC) requires the exclusion of sinister pulmonary pathology, including infection and malignancy. We present a patient with a 3 month history of CC who had an extensive workup including a normal high resolution computed tomography of the chest (HRCT) 6 weeks pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of medicine and surgery 2016-03, Vol.6, p.77-80
Main Authors: Jinnur, Praveen K, Pannu, Bibek S, Boland, Jennifer M, Iyer, Vivek N
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Abstract A diagnosis of ‘chronic cough’ (CC) requires the exclusion of sinister pulmonary pathology, including infection and malignancy. We present a patient with a 3 month history of CC who had an extensive workup including a normal high resolution computed tomography of the chest (HRCT) 6 weeks prior to consultation at our center. He subsequently developed constitutional symptoms including weight loss and loss of appetite 5 weeks after initial consultation. A repeat HRCT chest and a subsequent whole body PET scan found that he had developed extensive pulmonary lymphangitic carcinomatosis (PLC) from a colon primary. Treatment of the colon cancer resulted in significant decrease in metastatic disease burden and cough resolution. PLC is a very rare cause of ‘chronic cough’ and incipient/occult PLC presenting with chronic cough and a normal initial HRCT chest has not been previously reported.
ISSN:2049-0801
2049-0801
DOI:10.1016/j.amsu.2016.01.024