2023 Volume 66 Issue 4 Pages 156-160
The patient was a 58-year-old woman who presented to the hospital with the chief complaints of fever, sore throat, and difficulty eating. The patient was diagnosed with acute tonsillitis based on redness and swelling of tonsils and adhesion of white moss. The patient was admitted to the hospital for treatement with intravenous antibiotics. After the antibiotic administration, the patient’s sore throat tended to improve, but fever and swelling of the right tonsil persisted. A blood test showed an abnormally high soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) level of 7,720 U/mL, and malignant lymphoma was considered. The right tonsil was biopsied, and there was no finding of malignant lymphoma. The patient’s symptoms improved with continued antibiotics and the patient was discharged. sIL-2R was normalized two months later, and the swelling of the right tonsil was improved.
Although sIL-2R is known to be elevated in infectious diseases including acute tonsillitis, there have been no reports of abnormally high sIL-2R levels as in this case. In this paper, we report that an abnormally high sIL-2R level can occur in acute inflammation. sIL-2R elevation increases the possibility of malignant lymphoma, but since it is elevated in a variety of pathological conditions, it is important to consider other diseases and the clinical course.
