Pulmonary hydatid and other lung parasitic infections

Abstract

The lung may be infested by a great number of parasites. Hydatidosis is the most frequent parasitic lung disease. Diagnosis of lung hydatidosis is usually easy on chest radiography, ultrasonography, and CT scan, and immunodiagnosis may help in dubious cases. Surgery is necessary in most cases, but it must be conservative. Complex forms, such as disseminated disease and secondary lung hydatidosis (metastatic or bronchogenic) are difficult to treat and may be considered malignant. Medical treatment may be helpful in complex forms, in poor surgical risk patients, and in cases of preoperative spillage of hydatic fluid. Prevention programs are necessary in endemic areas, and research must be directed toward vaccination against the parasite. Other parasitic diseases are reported less frequently in the literature, and the majority of published articles are either case reports or only report a small number of cases. Clinical presentation is variable according to the great variety of parasites that may involve the lungs.

Comparative study of X-ray computerised tomography and conventional X-ray methods in diagnosis of swimbladder infection in eels caused by Anguillicola crassus

“…Computerised tomography as a diagnostic method is widely used in human and veterinary medicine, providing useful data on the wall thickness of organs such as the urinary bladder and the gallbladder, as well as on the size and shape of stones or tumours in those organs (Laato et al 2001, Gore et al 2002, Pavlidis et al 2002, Rickes & Ocran 2002. In the field of parasitic infection, computerised tomography has proved suitable for the diagnosis of hydatid infections and for checking the efficacy of therapy (Minguetti & Ferreira 1983, Liu et al 1993, Ramos et al 2001, Kilani & El Hammami 2002. In relation to fish, the technique is used primarily for the detection of fish bones that pose a problem in human nutrition (Palme et al 1999), but there are some data on its use in diagnosing skeletal and swimbladder abnormalities of ornamental fish also (Love & Lewbart 1997, Bakal et al 1998, Garland et al 2002, Weisse et al 2002.…”

A Case of Pleural Hydatid Cyst Mimicking Malignancy in a Non-Endemic Country

“…During surgery, spillage of hydatic fluid must be rigorously avoided because of the risk of anaphylaxis and disease recurrence 11 . Postoperative morbidity and mortality are low, from 1 to 2% 8 . In this case, the hydatid cyst was completely removed without any spillage of hydatic fluid.…”

“…The patient presented here was asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally on a plain chest radiography during the work up for diabetes mellitus. The diagnosis of hydatid disease still depends on radiography 8 . Hydatid cysts in the liver or lungs are diagnosed easily but intrathoracic extrapulmonary cases may have atypical radiological presentation 6 .…”

“…Laboratory tests can complement the clinical and radiological investigations. Blood testing is usually negative for eosinophilia in cases with intrathoracic hydatid disease 8 . Immunological tests such as IgG ELISA, indirect hemagglutination assay, and the hydatid antigen dot immunobinding assay can be helpful, but the sensitivity is only around 60% 9 .…”

Successful Management of Complicated Multi-Organ Hydatid Cysts

“…Lung is the second localization organ in adults after liver [1]. Hepato-pulmonary hydatid cysts (HPHC), were reported up to 34.8% [2].…”