Rapid oxygen consumption by markedly increased numbers of hypermetabolic leukocytes in leukaemic patients resulting in the apparent diagnosis of hypoxaemia on arterial blood gas analyses is termed leukocyte larceny.In the present report, a case of polycythaemia vera, extreme thrombocytosis, normal leukocyte counts and arterial hypoxaemia in the absence of clinical, radiological or physiological evidence of lung disease is described.This pseudohypoxaemia case was established by pulse oximetry, as well as by incubation of a blood specimen with potassium cyanide, and became less significant after the use of cytoreductive agents showed a proportionate increase in arterial oxygen tension as platelet counts decreased on serial arterial blood gas analyses.The present case report demonstrates spurious hypoxaemia due to extreme thrombocytosis and shows that, beside significant leukocytosis, even markedly elevated platelet counts can cause larceny of arterial blood oxygen.

Invasive aspergillosis in immunosuppressed people has been well documented, but to diagnose and treat in an immunocompetent individual after near drowning, it requires early suspicion and proper empirical treatment. We report a case diagnosed to have invasive aspergillosis with systemic dissemination of the infection to the brain, gluteal muscles, and kidneys after a fall in a chemical tank of a paper manufacturing company. He was ventilated for acute respiratory distress syndrome and managed with antibiotics and vasopressors. Due to nonresolving pneumonia and positive serum galactomannan, trans-tracheal biopsy was performed which confirmed invasive aspergillosis and was treated with antifungals. With the availability of galactomannan assay and better radiological investigative modalities, occurrence of such invasive fungal infections in cases of drowning patients should be considered early in such patients and treated with appropriate antifungals.

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There are few published studies of obstructive sleep apnea in the Asian subcontinent. The objectives were to describe the syndrome and evaluate the utility of computed tomography (CT) cephalometry in patients found to have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by polysomnography. This article reports on a retrospective case series in a referral population. A total of 880 patients (560 males and 320 females) were seen in a referral center in Hyderabad, South India, during the last 7 years. All patients with suspected obstructive sleep apnea were evaluated with 16-channel polysomnogram by overnight sleep study; 600 subjects (68%; 480 males and 120 females) underwent evaluation with CT cephalometry. Mean age was 51.4 +/- 9.5 years (standard deviation). The mean apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was 27.93 +/- 3.8. The majority of patients had more than 10 AHI; mean percentage of sleep efficiency was 80.62 +/- 15.38; mean percentage of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep was 13.79 +/- 7.89; mean awake arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) was 90%; mean sleep SaO2 was 84% +/- 4.4%; mean Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score was 12.3 +/- 2.8. The tongue base area (TBA) was found to be significantly associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), with mean TBA 1032.8 +/- 427 mm2 compared with normal controls at 561.1 +/- 197.6 mm2 (p < 0.001). Mean gonion-gnathion-hyoid angle (Go-Gn-H) was 28.5 +/- 10.5 in OSA and 16 +/- 16.7 in controls; uvula area was 452.5 +/- 145.8 mm2 in OSA and 221.4 +/- 49.85 mm2 in controls; uvula diameter was 13.8 +/- 2.74 mm in OSA and 10.1 +/- 1.72 mm in controls. A total of 704 patients with OSA (80%) were found to be hypertensive, with daytime mean blood pressure of 160/100 +/- 8.5/4.8 mm Hg. Mean duration of reported hypertension was 2 years. The present study showed moderate to severe OSA in a majority of suspected cases referred for polysomnogram. Mild disease was seen in 20.45% of patients (n = 180). On CT cephalometry, the TBA correlated significantly with OSA; hypertension is common in patients with OSA.