Lady Windermere Syndrome: A Rare Differential Diagnosis for Hemoptysis

Abstract

Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) is often observed in immunocompromised individuals. However, when pulmonary MAC infection occurs in immunocompetent individuals, particularly elderly females, characteristically involving the middle lobe and lingula lobe of the lung, it is known as Lady Windermere syndrome (LWS). A 64-year-old female patient with no significant comorbidities presented with a history of low-grade intermittent fever and dry cough for one-month duration complicated with hemoptysis for two days. Her initial investigations and imaging were negative, except for the high-resolution CT (HRCT) finding of bronchiectasis involving the middle lobe and lingula lobe suggestive of MAC infection, which was further confirmed by positive sputum culture for MAC. LWS is a condition that is rarely encountered in clinical settings and seldom described in the literature. Especially in resource-limited settings, arriving at a diagnosis is further hindered by the scarce availability of advanced imaging such as HRCT. In clinical settings where pulmonary tuberculosis is endemic, the differentiation of the two conditions is of paramount importance as the treatment regimens for the two conditions are quite different.