Anaemia and leucocytosis: A clue to occult malignancy

Abstract

Leucocytosis is undoubtedly one of the most important laboratory indicators of sepsis. Patients presenting with leucocytosis are often treated for prolonged periods with antibiotics prior to looking for an alternative cause for the leucocytosis. We describe here the case of a 67-year-old male, in whomleucocytosis on presentation was found to be paraneoplastic in nature (an accompanying feature of his poorly differentiated oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma). Also, our case highlights the importance of gastrointestinal endoscopic evaluation in patients with iron deficiency anaemia.

Keywords

• paraneoplastic leucocytosis
• iron deficiency anaemia