Abstract
Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) is a rare subtype of peripheral T-cell lymphoma. Patients usually present with the acute onset of a systemic illness. We herein report a case of AITL mimicking acute tonsillitis with a prolonged clinical course. A 75-year-old woman was referred to our hospital because of a long-lasting fever and a sore throat. Epiglottic edema was also observed. She had been treated for acute tonsillitis for about a month because of bilateral tonsillar exudates, but treatment with the intravenous injection of antibiotics and steroids had had no effect. Enhanced computed tomography confirmed systemic lymph node swelling, and a biopsy of the left inguinal region was performed on the fourth day. Intraabdominal hemorrhaging began abruptly on the sixth day, and blood transfusion was performed. She was referred to a hospital with a hematology department on the seventh day. A diagnosis of malignant lymphoma was made shortly after the biopsy, but a diagnosis of AITL was made a month later. When antibiotic treatment of acute tonsillitis is not effective and the clinical course is prolonged, we must consider the existence of non-bacterial inflammation or neoplastic disease, such as malignant lymphoma.
