Sparganosis is a rare parasitic disease caused by migrating plerocercoid tapeworm larva of the genus Spirometra. Infection in humans is mainly caused by the ingestion of raw or inadequately cooked flesh of infected frogs, snakes, and chickens. Here, we report a rare case of a 45-year-old man who was admitted to our hospital with left lower chest pain. The chest radiograph and computed tomography (CT) scan revealed localized pleural effusion in the left lower lobe; further, peripheral blood eosinophilia and eosinophilic pleural effusion were present. Percutaneous catheter drainage was performed, which revealed long worm-shaped material that was identified as a sparganum by DNA sequencing. The patient showed clinical improvement after drainage of the sparganum. This study demonstrates the importance of considering parasitic diseases in the differential diagnosis of eosinophilic pleural effusion.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Pleural effusion caused by Trichinella spiralis infection: two case reports Zhen-zhen Pan, Miao-juan Zhu, Yu-qiong Rong, Jiong Yang BMC Infectious Diseases.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Prevention of Sparganosis in Asia Wei Liu, Tengfang Gong, Shuyu Chen, Quan Liu, Haoying Zhou, Junlin He, Yong Wu, Fen Li, Yisong Liu Animals.2022; 12(12): 1578. CrossRef
Incidence, aetiology and clinical features of eosinophilic pleural effusion: a retrospective study Minfang Li, Yunxiang Zeng, Yaqing Li, Dan Jia, Sheng Chen, Jinlin Wang BMC Pulmonary Medicine.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
Retrospective study of pleural parasitic infestations: a practical diagnostic approach Jinlin Wang, Weizhan Luo, Panxiao Shen, Jianxing He, Yunxiang Zeng BMC Infectious Diseases.2019;[Epub] CrossRef
Eosinophilia in Pleural Effusions: a Speculative Negative Predictor for Malignancy Fang-Yeh Chu, Ching-Biau Liou, Jen-Tang Sun, Chia-Hao Bei, Tse-Hsuan Liou, N-Chi Tan, Yun-Chieh Yu, Chih-Chun Chang, Tzung-Hai Yen, Ming-Jang Su Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention.2016; 17(3): 1411. CrossRef
Clinical Features of Pulmonary Sparganosis Ning Li, Yi Xiang, Yun Feng, Min Li, Bei Li Gao, Qing Yun Li The American Journal of the Medical Sciences.2015; 350(6): 436. CrossRef
First
Prev
