The First Case of Human Hepatic Fasciolosis Presented as Hepatic Pseudotumor Histopathologically Diagnosed in Romania-A Case Report

Healthcare (Basel). 2023 May 17;11(10):1451. doi: 10.3390/healthcare11101451.

Abstract

Human hepatic fasciolosis has been reported in 81 countries, some of which are endemic areas. In Europe, case reports from humans were published in Portugal, Spain, France, and Italy. Regarding Romania, we do not have any data on the prevalence of this parasitosis, with the exception of two cases of twins that were born in Romania and diagnosed in the last 37 years in Italy after joining their mother that lived there. We report the case of a patient diagnosed in Romania with chronic fasciolosis, presented as a hepatic pseudotumor that was diagnosed during the histopathological examination of the hepatic lesion. The patient received oral treatment with triclabendazole, two doses of 10 milligrams (mg) per kilogram (kg) of body weight, given 12 h apart, with no side effects during or after the treatment. The evolution of the patient was favorable. In conclusion, even in areas free of human fasciolosis, the presence of an anemic syndrome especially in children, abdominal pain in the upper quadrants, associated or not with other digestive manifestations, even more so associated with eosinophilia in the acute phase, should be carefully evaluated for ruling out a parasitosis such as fasciolosis even in countries where this diagnosis seems unlikely.

Keywords: Fasciola hepatica; Romania; case report; histopathologic diagnosis; human hepatic fasciolosis; pseudotumor.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

Grants and funding

Project financed by Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu research grant LBUS-IRG-2022-08 and Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu and Hasso Plattner Foundation research grant LBUS-IRG-2019-05.