title: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma presenting as carotidynia in an 18-year-old patient.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nasopharyngeal carcinoma can present with a variety of symptoms the most common being painless cervical lymph node metastases, epistaxis and conductive hearing loss.
  
  
  METHODS
  We report a case of an 18-year-old male patient presenting to the ENT department with left sided carotidynia - severe pain in the neck radiating up to his ear. He had a small, exquisitely tender lump just below the bifurcation of the left common carotid artery. After the appropriate investigations he was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In a literature search on Medline and Pubmed we found no reported cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma presenting with carotidynia, nor was carotidynia ever found to be associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We believe that this is the first reported case of such a presentation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: ENT Department, St. Luke's Hospital, Gwardamangia, Malta. davidellul@onvol.net
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ellul
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cutajar
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Borg Xuereb
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Said
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008319:Malta; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome