Multiple sparganosis spinal infections mainly in the thoracic region: A case report

BACKGROUND Spinal infection with sparganosis is rarely seen,and multiple spinal infections with sparganosis in the thoracic spine have not been reported.CASE SUMMARY In this case report,a 56-year old male patient suffered from back pain for 3 mo.Computed tomography examination of the thoracic spine showed bone destruction of the T4-5 vertebral body,as well as the right pedicle and lamina of T5.Magnetic resonance imaging showed high signals on T2W1 images and fat-suppressed images in the right vertebral body of T4-5 and the right pedicle and lamina of T5,a high signal in the vertebral canal,and similar high signals in the paravertebral and subcutaneous regions of the whole spine.Puncture biopsy showed sparganosis.Following definite diagnosis,the patient was treated with debridement of T4-5 infected lesions under a microscope,bone grafting and internal fixation.Postoperatively,the patient's back pain symptoms were significantly relieved;the incision healed after one-stage treatment,and alben-dazole antiparasitic treatment was administered.CONCLUSION Puncture biopsy is the most reliable method to diagnose infection by sparganum.Removal of infected lesions under the microscope and albendazole for anti-parasitic treatment are safe and effective.

Presumptive case of sparganosis manifesting as a hepatic mass: A case report and literature review

A 60-year-old man was admitted due to rectosigmoid colon cancer, and a hepatic mass was incidentally found during the staging work-up. The mass appeared cystic with a thick wall and contained multiple bizarre cord-like structures on ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. The differential diagnoses included organizing abscess/hematoma, foreign body granuloma and parasite infestation. Serologic study revealed anti-sparganum antibodies. Over 4-year followup, the patient did not complain of symptoms, and no changes in the characteristics of the liver mass were observed. Hepatic sparganosis is rare; only two cases have been clinically reported, and no detailed radiologic description was available until now. This case report presents a detailed radiologic description of a hepatic mass that could most likely represent hepatic sparganosis.

Endoscopic resection of sparganosis presenting as colon submucosal tumor: A case report

Human sparganosis is a rare parasitic disease caused by infection with the tapeworm Sparganum, the migrating plerocercoid(second stage) larva of Spirometra species. Sparganosis usually involves subcutaneous tissues and/or muscles of various parts of the body, but involvement of other sites such as the brain, eye, peritoneopleural cavity, urinary track, scrotum, and abdominal viscera has also been documented. Infections caused by sparganum have a worldwide distribution but are most common in Southeast Asia such as China, Japan, and South Korea. Rectal sparganosis is an uncommon disease but should be considered in the differential diagnosis of unusual and suspicious rectal submucosal tumors. We report a case of rectal sparganosis presenting as rectal submucosal tumor. We performed endoscopic submucosal dissection of the rectal submucosal tumor. The sparganosis was confirmed based on the presence of calcospherules in the submucosal layer on histological examination. Moreover, the result of the immunoglobulin G antibody test for sparganosis was positive but became negative after endoscopic submucosal dissection. Though rare, rectal sparganosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of rectal submucosal tumor-like lesions. This case suggests that physicians should make effort to exclude sparganosis through careful diagnostic approaches, including detailed history taking and serological tests for parasites. In this report, we aimed to highlight the clinical presentation of Sparganum infection as a rectal submucosal tumor.

Differentiation and diagnosis of migrating cerebral sparganosis: 2 case reports from China

Human cerebral sparganosis is a rare but neglected parasitic disease. We present details of the diagnosis of two cases of migrating cerebral sparganosis from China based on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging combined with epidemiological information and serology. Its differentiatial diagnosis from other parasitic diseases, tuberculoma and brain tumor by neuroimaging is briefly discribed.

Bronchial Sparganosis mansoni accompanied by abnormal hyperplasia diagnosed by bronchoscopy

Pulmonary sparganosis mansoni is rare in humans and bronchial sparganosis mansoni has not been reported. We reported a patient with a soft-tissue mass in the right hilum area on a chest computed tomography （CT） scan that was suspected of being lung cancer. Bronchoscopy identified sparganum larvae. Bronchial sparganosis mansoni accompanied by abnormal hyperplasia was diagnosed by histopathology. We introduced our experience and reviewed the clinical characteristics of three pulmonary sparganosis mansoni cases and three pleural cavity sparganosis mansoni cases that have been reported.

A neglected risk for sparganosis:eating live tadpoles in central China

A 29-year-old farmer from central China was sent into the Emergency Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University.He had a 15-day history of persistent high fever,abdominal distention and pain.The patient was clinically diagnosed as appendicitis and peritonitis,and treated with antibiotics in a local hospital,did not improve.On exploratory laparotomy,the appendicular perforation and peritonitis were seen;appendicectomy were performed,and antibiotics were given.However,high fever and abdominal pain still persisted;intestinal adhesion and obstruction,ascites appeared.He was given the“critically ill notice”.He had eosinophilia(12.95%)and the history of eating live frog tadpoles for treating his cutaneous pruritus 3 days before onset of the disease.Serum anti-sparganum antibodies assayed by ELISA were positive.This patient has hospitalized for one and half months and spend more than US$12000.This patient was primarily diagnosed as visceral sparganosis,and cured with praziquantel.Sparganosis is one neglected but important parasitic zoonosis of poverty.Human infections were mainly acquired by eating raw or uncooked meat of frogs and snakes infected with plerocercoids,using frog or snake flesh as poultices,or drinking raw water contaminated with infected copepods.However,sparganosis caused by ingestion of live tadpoles are emerging in central China.Our surveys showed that 11.93%of tadpoles in Henan province are infected with plerocercoids.Eating live tadpoles is a high risk for sparganum infection.The comprehensive public health education should be carried out for people in endemic areas and the bad habit of eating live tadpoles must be discouraged.

Sparganosis of the brain: a case report and brief review

Human sparganosis is a rare disease often affecting muscle, subcutaneous tissue and other locations, but sparganosis invading the brain is rather rare. Cerebral sparganosis has no specific symptoms which makes the diagnosis quite difficult and is usually neglected in the clinic. Here the authors reported a case of a 29-year-old female who was diagnosed with cerebral sparganosis and underwent surgery in their department and a brief review of the literature was conducted as well.

Subcutaneous larva migrans of a sparganum in a gnathostomiasis-endemic area

We report a case of subcutaneous larva migrans caused by a tape worm (sparganum), a rare and under-recognized food-borne parasitic zoonosis, in Nan Province, Northern Thailand. An obese 56-year-old female presented a 3-month history of an intermittent migrating subcutaneous nodule in the abdomen associated with pain and itching. Physical examination showed a tubal resection scar on the lower abdomen with a swelling and movable irregular, and firm nodule with ill-defined border at the right lower quadrant of abdomen. Blood examination showed slight?increased of eosinophil levels (6%). Excisional biopsy showed a viable non-segmented tape worm in the subcutaneous tissue identified by morphological examination and Western blot technique as a sparganum. Surgical removal is recommended for a worm in the subcutaneous connective tissues and superficial muscles.