Objective: To investigate the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, therapeutic approaches and outcomes of parasitic encephalopathy.
Methods: A retrospective study was carried out to analyze 78 cases of parasitic encephalopathy in Huashan Hospital between June 2003 and June 2008.
Results: There were 52 male and 26 female patients with a mean age of (34.5+/-11.4) years. Among these patients, 32.1% (25/78) had a history of eating raw, neurocysticercosis accounted for 78.2% (61/78), cerebral sparganosis 15.4% (12/78), cerebral paragonimiasis 3.8% (3/78), and cerebral toxoplasmosis 2.6% (2/78). The common clinical features were epilepsy, headache, nausea, vomiting, vision and hearing loss, facial paralysis and mental retardation. Internal medical therapy resulted in an improvement in 69.2% of the patients. 7 out of 9 patients got improved or cured by combined surgical and internal medical treatment. 42 cases were diagnosed as parasitic encephalopathy while 36 cases (46.1%) were once misdiagnosed as other disorders.
Conclusion: Parasitic encephalopathy is associated with a history of eating raw, with a high rate of misdiagnosis. Internal medicine combined with surgery is an effective way for the therapy.