Pyogenic liver abscesses and acute schistosomiasis mansoni: report on 3 cases and experimental study

Abstract

Three children with acute schistosomiasis mansoni developed pyogenic liver abscesses. The abscesses were diagnosed by ultrasonography and confirmed during laparotomy. Staphylococcus aureus were the sole bacteria isolated from the abscesses. An experimental study was carried out in mice to establish whether schistosomiasis is a predisposing cause for pyogenic liver abscesses. Seventeen mice (group 1) were infected with 40 Schistosoma mansoni cercariae (LE strain) and 60 d later inoculated intravenously with a strain of Staph. aureus, isolated from a patient with bacteraemia; 17 mice infected with Sch. mansoni (group 2), 19 infected with bacteria alone (group 3), and 18 uninfected mice (group 4), served as controls. Thirteen group 1 mice (77%) developed multiple liver abscesses while none was observed in the controls. These results indicate that acute schistosomiasis mansoni concurrent with Staph. aureus bacteraemia favours the colonization of the liver by bacteria and the development of pyogenic hepatic abscesses.

Acute Schistosomiasis: Report on Five Singular Cases

“…Lambertucci and colleagues have described this association in 1990 (Lambertucci et al 1990), and recently Teixeira et al (1996) have confirmed and extended their previous findings.…”

Short report: do intestinal nematodes increase the risk for multibacillary leprosy?

“…8,12,14,15 It has been reported that acute Schistosoma mansoni, intestinal nematodes, or Toxocara canis infections are risk factors for pyogenic liver abscess and for other staphylococcal infections on both children and adults. [16][17][18] Supporting this hypothesis are preliminary results from our laboratory, which indicate that the production of interleukin-4 and -10 by CD3…”

Pathogenic aspects of pyogenic liver abscess associated with experimental schistosomiasis.

“…Forty thousand colony forming units (CFU), as determined by nephelometer, were injected into the tail vein, according to the method previously described. 10 The bacterial infection was done after 60 days (acute phase) and 120 days (chronic phase) of being infected with cercariae, and 30 days after the treatment of schistosomiasis.…”

“…5 Hepatic hydatid cysts (Ecchinococcus granulosus) also become secondarily infected. 6 In addition, migrating Ascaris lumbricoides 7,8 and, more recently, acute schistosomiasis [9][10][11] have been implicated as predisposing factors in the genesis of pyogenic liver abscess.…”

“…The clinical and experimental study demonstrated that acute schistosomiasis concurrent with S. aureus bacteremia favors the colonization of the liver by bacteria causing pyogenic liver abscesses. [9][10][11] The following aspects of the pathogenesis of the pyogenic liver abscess in mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni are evaluated herein: a) the role of the eggs of S. mansoni in the genesis of the abscesses; b) the influence of the acute and chronic phases of schistosomiasis in the development of the abscesses; and c) the effect of schistosomiasis treatment on the development of the abscesses.…”