We report the successful treatment of infective endocarditis caused by Streptococcus mitis with linezolid in a patient with pre-existing valvular heart disease. The patient had multiple allergies to conventional antibiotics. Linezolid may provide an oral alternative in the treatment of infective endocarditis in patients with adverse drug reactions to traditional antibiotic regimens.

Brucellosis is an infectious disease of humans and animals caused by Brucella species. We report on a 34-year-old housewife who presented with recurrent headache, fever, and malaise. Blood cultures yielded slow-growing gram-negative coccobacilli that were later identified as Brucella melitensis. The patient recalled handling goat placenta in China. She was prescribed a 6-week course of doxycycline and rifampicin. Laboratory staff who had been exposed to the isolate remained asymptomatic. The epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of brucellosis are discussed.

An 83-year-old retired farmer developed invasive strongyloidiasis after using potent topical corticosteroids. Initial colonoscopy features mimicked ulcerative colitis, and the clinical course was complicated by bacterial septicaemia with Serratia and Enterococcus. He was treated successfully with oral ivermectin and antibiotics.

We report three cases of benign metastasising leiomyoma, which is a rare cause of multiple lung nodules, in three Hong Kong Chinese females. One patient presented with pleuritic chest pain, another was asymptomatic, while the last presented with haemoptysis. All three patients had previously undergone surgical resection of uterine leiomyomas. Multiple lung nodules mimicking lung metastases were demonstrated on chest radiographs, and all three diagnoses were obtained from lung biopsies. Hormonal therapy was given to two patients with variable responses. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of benign metastasising leiomyoma in Hong Kong Chinese population. It highlights the importance of considering this rare and benign disease in premenopausal females presenting with multiple lung nodules.

Congenital hepatic fibrosis is an uncommon fibrocystic disorder affecting the intrahepatic bile ducts. It has autosomal recessive inheritance. The main consequence of this condition is portal hypertension and it is often misdiagnosed as cirrhosis. Patients with congenital hepatic fibrosis usually present during childhood or early adolescence with oesophageal variceal bleeding. Portosystemic shunt surgery is the treatment of choice for these patients as the risk of postoperative hepatic encephalopathy is low. We report a patient with congenital hepatic fibrosis who presented with oesophageal variceal bleeding at the age of 16 years, initially misdiagnosed as having cryptogenic liver cirrhosis. The patient experienced two further episodes of oesophageal variceal bleeding in subsequent years. She eventually underwent portosystemic shunt surgery. One year after the operation, the shunt remained patent on Doppler ultrasonography, and there had been no further episodes of variceal bleeding post-surgery.