Surgically managed human cystic echinococcosis in north-eastern Iran: a single center’s experience from 2001 to 2008

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus . Although CE has a large geographic distribution, data are lacking on the frequency of infection and epidemiology of CE in many endemic areas of the world, including the Middle East. Demographi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of parasitic diseases 2017-09, Vol.41 (3), p.883-887
Main Authors: Ebrahimipour, Mohammad, Budke, Christine M., Najjari, Mohsen, Yaghoobi, Kambiz
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cell number
Echinococcosis
Geographical distribution
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Infectious Diseases
Leukocytes (eosinophilic)
Liver
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Original
Original Article
Serology
Ultrasound
Zoonoses
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Summary:Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus . Although CE has a large geographic distribution, data are lacking on the frequency of infection and epidemiology of CE in many endemic areas of the world, including the Middle East. Demographic and clinical information on surgically managed human CE cases were evaluated from a referral hospital in north-eastern Iran for the years 2001–2008. Of the 400 CE cases, 218 (54.5%) were male. The median age of patients was 35 years (range 2–83 years). The lungs (41.0%) and liver (37.7%) were the most commonly infected organs. However, 12.7% of patients had multiple organ involvement. The majority of cases (54.3%) were diagnosed using ultrasound, with only 12.0% diagnosed with the help of serology. Total white blood cell count was elevated in 26.8% (107/400) of patients, neutrophil count was elevated in 24.0% (96/400) of patients, and eosinophil count was elevated in 13.3% (53/400) of patients. Lymphocyte count was the only complete blood count (CBC) value that differed based on organ location ( P  = 0.001). Despite some successes in the control of CE, the number of surgical CE cases in north-eastern Iran remains high. Although not diagnostic alone, CBC values allow for clinicians to obtain a more complete clinical picture of CE before, during, and after treatment. While serology has its place, the use of diagnostic imaging continues to be the most commonly used tool for the diagnosis of CE cases.
ISSN:0971-7196
0975-0703
DOI:10.1007/s12639-017-0911-9