Visceral larva migrans-like syndrome caused by Angiostrongylus costaricensis

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1982 Jan;31(1):67-70. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1982.31.67.

Abstract

In two cases of ectopic localization of Angiostrongylus costaricensis adult worms and eggs were seen in the liver, causing a granulomatous inflammatory reaction with dense eosinophilic infiltration and necrosis. In the first case, although antibodies for A. costaricensis had been demonstrated, a clinical diagnosis of visceral larva migrans was recorded; however, further examination of a liver biopsy revealed eggs of A. costaricensis. In the second case, severity of the intestinal pathology masked the presence of lesions and an adult A. costaricensis that were discovered in a retrospective study of the liver 13 years later. A close similarity between the visceral larva migrans syndrome and ectopic localization (liver) of A. costaricensis is established.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Angiostrongylus / isolation & purification*
  • Child, Preschool
  • Eosinophilia
  • Granuloma
  • Humans
  • Larva Migrans, Visceral / etiology*
  • Liver / parasitology*
  • Liver / pathology
  • Male
  • Metastrongyloidea / isolation & purification*
  • Necrosis
  • Nematode Infections / parasitology*