title: Chronic cough as a presenting feature of cerebral lymphoma.
abstract: We report a rare case of chronic cough as the presenting symptom of a primary brainstem lesion. A 69-year-old gentleman presented with chronic cough followed by onset of progressive truncal ataxia, incoordination and nystagmus. Contrast-enhanced imaging showed a midbrain lesion extending into the cerebellum, confirmed as lymphoma by stereotactic brain biopsy. The patient was successfully treated with chemotherapy, but his cough persists. We present this case to highlight the possibility of a brainstem lesion as a rare central cause of chronic cough, and suggest that the diagnosis is considered in those with concomitant neurological symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Countess of Chester Hospital, Cheshire CH6 1UL, UK spwilliams@doctors.org.uk.
authors.forename: Stephen P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK.
authors.forename: Mahmood F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Bhutta