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In vitro and in vivo Effects of Artesunate on Echinococcus granulosus Protoscoleces and Metacestodes
Echinococcosis is a multisystem disease and has propensity to involve any organ, an unusual anatomical site, and can mimic any disease process. Primary peritoneal echinococcosis is known to occur secondary to hepatic involvement but occasional cases of primary peritoneal hydatid disease including pelvic involvement have also been reported. We report here 1 such case of primary pelvic hydatidosis mimicking a malignant multicystic ovarian tumor where there was no evidence of involvement of the liver or spleen. Our patient, a 27-year-old female, was detected to have a large right cystic adnexal mass on per vaginal examination which was confirmed by ultrasonography. Her biochemical parameters were normal and CA-125 levels, though mildly raised, were below the cut off point. She underwent surgery and on exploratory laparotomy, another cystic mass was found attached to the mesentery of the small gut. The resected cysts were processed histopathologically. On cut sections both large cysts revealed numerous daughter cysts. Microscopic examination of fluid from the cysts revealed free scolices with hooklets and the cyst wall had a typical laminated membrane with inner germinal layer containing degenerated protoplasmic mass. The diagnosis of pelvic hydatid disease was confirmed and patient was managed accordingly. Hydatid disease must be considered while making the differential diagnosis of pelvic cystic masses, especially in endemic areas.
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Diagnosis of hydatidosis is based on immunodiagnostic methods along with radiological and ultrasound examinations. The
objective
s of the present study were to develop a specific and simple antigen-based ELISA method for diagnosis of hydatidosis and compare it with antibody detection method. The subjects in this study included 89 patients in the following groups: surgically confirmed hydatidosis patients (35 cases), control with other parasitic diseases (29 cases), and healthy controls (25 cases). Hyperimmune serum was raised against hydatid cyst fluid in rabbits. Anti-hydatid cyst IgG was purified by affinity chromatography using protein A column and labeled with horseradish peroxidase. Collected sera were assessed for hydatid cyst antigens and antibody by ELISA. Circulating hydatid antigen was found in 9 out of 35 patients with surgically confirmed hydatidosis. A sensitivity of 25.7% and a specificity of 98.0% were calculated for the antigen detection assay. Antibody detection by indirect ELISA, using antigen B, showed that 94.2% of patients (33 cases) have anti-hydatid cyst antibodies in their serum while cross reaction was noted in a few of non-hydatidosis patients. A sensitivity of 94.2% and specificity of 81.6% were found for the antibody detection assay. Findings of this study indicated that antibody detection assay is a sensitive approach for diagnosis of hydatid cyst while antigen detection assay might be a useful approach for assessment of the efficacy of treatment especially after removal of the cyst.
Citations
The diagnosis of human hydatidosis is primarily made using radiological and serological methods. Radiological methods are generally of low specificity and serological methods lack sensitivity, especially for pulmonary disease. In this study the capabilities of a new rapid test, the hydatid antigen dot immunobinding assay (HA-DIA), which was developed for the diagnosis of pulmonary hydatidosis, were studied and compared with another immunodiagnostic method, indirect hemagglutination (IHA). The study subjects included 18 patients, 9 women, 9 men; range 7 to 63 years; mean 30 years, with surgically proven pulmonary hydatidosis, a control group comprised of 14 patients; viral respiratory infections (1), cirrhosis (2), connective tissue disease (2), taeniasis (3), and 6 healthy donors. We found that the HA-DIA test had a sensitivity of 67% and specificity of 100%, and that the IHA test had a sensitivity of 50% and specificity of 100%. We conclude that HA-DIA is a simple, rapid, low cost assay that does not require instrumentation and has a higher sensitivity than IHA for the diagnosis of pulmonary hydatidosis.
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