1/6. Subcutaneous sparganosis--a case report and a review of human sparganosis in taiwan.Human sparganosis is a rare parasitic disease infected by plerocercoid larva (sparganum) of spirometra species. It was usually diagnosed accidentally and has long been underestimated. In this report, we describe a 53-year-old woman presenting as an enlarging subcutaneous nodule in the right thigh for 3 months, which was excised in the belief that it was a lipoma. Characteristic sparganum accompanied by granulomatous inflammation, eosinophilic infiltrate and sinus tract in the subcutaneous tissue were discovered under microscopic examination of the excised tissue. Contaminated drinking water was presumed to be the infectious source. Complete excision is a curative treatment. We also review previously documented 19 human sparganosis in taiwan to provide the clinical context for this report.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = parasitic disease (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/6. Genotypic assignment of infection by dirofilaria repens.dirofilariasis is a parasitic disease, which if treated inappropriately due to misdiagnosis, can cause unwanted complications particularly when the infection is located in the breast. The numerous obstacles that can cause misdiagnosis of dirofilariases by standard morphological procedures prompted the development of a dirofilaria repens-specific direct polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnostic approach using freshly infected dog blood. Reliable amplification of nematode dna from formalin-fixed infected human specimens by this method is only possible from relatively fresh biological material, preserved in the fixative for up to 20 days. We report here our first case of dirofilariasis since the development of PCR genotyping, where the pathogen was morphologically unrecognizable and the diagnosis was based exclusively on dna amplification. We complete our methodological contribution to the clinical laboratory diagnosis of dirofilariasis by presenting two more cases, where the primary genotypic assignment of infection by D. repens was further confirmed by conventional morphological means.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = parasitic disease (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/6. Eosinophilic pleural effusion in cutaneous myiasis.We have reported the case of a 54-year-old man with recurrent painful migratory subcutaneous nodules associated with marked blood eosinophilia and an eosinophilic pleural effusion. The entire syndrome was subsequently determined to be due to cutaneous myiasis caused by the larvae of Hypoderma lineatum, the cattle botfly. Infestation by this or other dipterous fly larvae should be among the parasitic diseases considered in the differential diagnosis of any patient with similar symptoms.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = parasitic disease (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/6. dermatitis rhabditidosa in an 11-year-old girl: a new cutaneous parasitic disease of man.Rhabditiform larvae of Rhabditis (Pelodera) strongyloides caused pruritic lesions in an 11-year-old girl, and persisted for 2 1/2 months. Larvae were found in skin scrapings from the child and in the family dog's hair.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 4keywords = parasitic disease (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/6. Cerebral and subcutaneous cysticercosis treated with albendazole.BACKGROUND: Cysticercosis is the most common parasitic disease of the central nervous system in the world, but cysticercosis cutis has been reported much less frequently. Because 54% of patients present with subcutaneous nodules, we report here the association of cysticercosis cutis in a patient with neurocysticercosis and review the literature and treatment options. CASE REPORT: The patient presented with multiple, asymptomatic subcutaneous nodules over the trunk and the extremities, associated with central nervous system involvement. Examination of an excised nodule by light microscopy revealed a larval cyst in the deep dermis surrounded partly by a fibrous pseudocapsule. Computed tomographic scanning af the skull showed multiple, nonenhancing, and calcified cycts in both cerebral hemispheres. Treatment with albendazole, 15 mg/kg/day for 30 days, was highly effective. At follow-up 6 months later, most subcutaneous nodules had disappeared or were markedly reduced in size, and the cerebral lesions had much improved. CONCLUSIONS: albendazole, a newer paracidal drug, seems to be more effective and less expensive than some other drugs in use for the treatment of neurocysticercosis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = parasitic disease (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/6. skin localization of alveolar echinococcosis of the liver.Alveolar echinococcosis is a rare parasitic disease caused by the intrahepatic growth of echinococcus multilocularis larvae. Secondary localizations can be observed; pulmonary metastases are the most frequent and are observed in 22% of patients. Other extrahepatic localizations are less frequent. We describe two patients with abdominal skin involvement. To our knowledge, this has never before been reported. In both patients, the liver lesion was located in the left lobe, and larvae probably spread to the skin via the falciform ligament. In one patient albendazole therapy was effective.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = parasitic disease (Clic here for more details about this article) |