# A Curious Case of Abdominal Pain: Coexisting Left Lower Lobe Pneumonia and Helicobacter pylori-Positive Erosive Gastritis

## TL;DR

A patient with abdominal pain had both pneumonia and H. pylori-related gastritis, showing how overlapping conditions can complicate diagnosis.

## Contribution

This case highlights the rare coexistence of pneumonia and gastritis causing similar symptoms and the risk of anchoring bias in diagnosis.

## Key findings

- Severe epigastric pain was caused by both left lower lobe pneumonia and H. pylori-positive erosive gastritis.
- Atypical abdominal pain from lower lobe pneumonia can delay proper respiratory diagnosis.
- Clinicians should consider cardiopulmonary issues in all abdominal pain cases to avoid misdiagnosis.

## Abstract

Pneumonia typically manifests with fever, productive cough, dyspnea, pleuritic chest pain, and tachypnea; however, atypical or uncommon symptoms may obscure the underlying diagnosis. Lower lobe pneumonias may uncommonly present with abdominal pain, leading clinicians toward gastrointestinal diagnoses before respiratory pathology becomes apparent. We report a case where severe epigastric pain was produced by two independent pathologies, left lower lobe pneumonia and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-positive erosive gastritis, creating a complex and misleading symptom pattern. This case highlights the importance of a systematic cardiopulmonary examination in all abdominal pain presentations and the risk of anchoring bias when parallel pathologies coexist.