Primary intracranial and spinal hydatidosis: a retrospective study of 21 cases

Abstract

Objective: To analyse the epidemiological characteristics, clinical symptoms, radiological aspects, treatments, and outcomes of primary central nervous system (CNS) hydatidosis and compare our results with those observed for secondary intracranial hydatidosis. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 21 cases of primary CNS hydatid cysts operated on at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University between 1996 and 2010. Results: Of the 21 primary cases, the vast majority were intracranial hydatidosis patients (20 cases, 95.24%). Only one patient had spinal hydatidosis. Unlike previously published reports, we found that intracranial hydatid cysts were more common in adults (80.96%) than in children (19.04%), with a slight male predominance (M/F 5 1.1). All symptoms, including vomiting, nausea, and focal neurological signs, resulted from the increased intracranial pressure, which was closely associated with the cyst location. For the spinal hydatidosis patient, the primary symptom of back pain was indicative of spinal cord compression syndrome. All cysts in the 21 primary cases were pathologically similar. The recurrence percentage was 28% over 12 years. Two patients with multiple intracranial hydatid cysts died due to foramen magnum herniation. Conclusion: Despite imaging and therapeutic advances, CNS hydatidosis remains difficult to treat, and severe complications and the high incidence of recurrence result in unsatisfactory outcomes.

Primary Hydatid Cyst of the Brain in a Child: A Case Report

“…Brain location requires peculiar anatomic conditions that allow the germ to shunt the hepatic and pulmonary filters; the present patient had a persistent Botallo duct [11]. Most reported cases have described solitary, intraparenchymal cysts mainly located along the terminal branches of the middle cerebral artery [12]. Especially in children, cerebral hydatid cysts can grow to an enormous size because of the elastic structure of bone and the relatively higher compressibility of the neural tissue [13].…”

Medical treatment of an unusual cerebral hydatid disease

“…Hydatid disease primarily involves the liver and lungs. The brain is involved in less than 2% of cases [ 2 , 3 ].…”

Cerebral hydatidosis: Exceptional and challenging form of neurohydatidosis (Review)

“…More rarely, cerebral hydatidosis can be associated with a synchronous spinal localization [22]. The primitive cerebral forms of hydatid cyst are exceptional [23,24]. This localization of the disease can be seen at any age but seems to be more common in children [15,17,25,26].…”

“…Their size is variable and giant brain hydatid cysts are also possible [30,31]. Likewise, their number is variable; these cysts are most often unique but can be multiple [19,20,[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34].…”

“…It is not different from that of other brain tumors. It depends on the location, size, and number of cysts [9,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][23][24][25][26][27][28].…”