Faculty Bibliography

A 48-year-old woman with a past medical history of seizures and end-stage renal disease secondary to obstructive uropathy from retroperitoneal fibrosis presented to the emergency department with seizures and altered mental status. A Glasgow Coma Scale of 4 prompted intubation, and she was subsequently admitted to the intensive care unit. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain performed to elucidate the aetiology of her seizure showed a dural-based mass within the left temporoparietal lobe as well as mass lesions within the orbits. Further imaging showed extensive retroperitoneal fibrosis extending to the mediastinum with involvement of aorta and posterior pleural space. Imaging of the long bones showed bilateral sclerosis and cortical thickening of the diaphyses. Imaging of the maxillofacial structures showed osseous destructive lesions involving the mandible. These clinical and radiological features were consistent with a diagnosis of Erdheim-Chester disease; however, the patient's skin biopsy was consistent with Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

A 26-year-old male without any significant past medical history presented to the hospital with shortness of breath, cough, pleuritic chest pain, and weight loss for the past 3 months. On chest CT, he was found to have extensive mediastinal and hilar lymphadenopathy and multiple pulmonary nodules. On physical examination, a right groin mass was noted which had been slowly growing for the past 2 years. Ultrasound of the groin showed complex solid mass with internal vascular channels. CT guided biopsy of the mass showed desmoplastic small round cell tumour. His hospital course was complicated by hypoxic respiratory failure requiring emergent intubation and ICU admission where he completed one cycle of vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin with subsequent improvement, followed by extubation. His condition continued to improve after second cycle of chemotherapy and he was ultimately discharged in a stable condition to continue outpatient chemotherapy after a 2-month inpatient stay.