Hydroxyurea is an antineoplastic agent commonly used to treat essential thrombocytosis. We report the case of a 50-year-old woman who was incidentally detected to have essential thrombocytosis after suffering an episode of cerebrovascular accident with faciobrachial monoparesis. She was subsequently initiated on hydroxyurea. Within seven weeks of therapy, the patient noticed irregular hyperpigmented patches over her feet, hands and perioral region, with bluish-grey longitudinal bands on all 20 nails. Hydroxyurea-induced hyperpigmentation and melanonychia are not commonly reported. To the best of our knowledge, this is only the third published report of hydroxyurea-induced hyperpigmentation and melanonychia involving all 20 nails. Physicians need to be aware of such mucocutaneous side effects to avoid misdiagnosis and unwarranted fear in patients. The decision to discontinue the intake of the drug depends heavily on the future risk of thrombotic events.

Infratentorial subdural empyema is an extremely rare condition which unfortunately mimics pyogenic meningitis in 75% of cases. While an ill-planned lumbar puncture in these cases may be fatal, an inadvertent delay in treatment may be detrimental to the outcome for the patient. We present a case of a young boy with long standing history of chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) presenting with an infratentorial empyema with features suggestive of pyogenic meningitis. We also review the available literature to further define the condition in terms of clinical features, treatment options, and outcome. A misdiagnosis of this condition with failure to institute appropriate surgical intervention and antibiotic therapy is potentially life threatening. We highlight this rare condition which requires a high degree of suspicion especially in the presence of associated risk factors.