A Summary Of Hydatid Disease In Thailand

Abstract

Context: Hydatid disease is a zoonosis caused by the tapeworm of Echinococcus spp. In Southeast Asia, the human hydatid disease is rare. Objective: The author performed a literature review on the reports of hydatid diseases in Thailand in order to summarize the characteristics of this infection among those patients. Design: This study was designed as a descriptive retrospective study. A literature review of the papers concerning hydatid diseases in Thailand was performed. Results: According to this study, there have been at least 10 reports in the literature of hydatid diseases, with 2 lethal cases. Of these 10 cases, 6 were males and 4 were females. Of 9 cases that documented patients' age, the ages ranged from 16 years to 58 years. Lung cyst is the most common manifestation (6 cases), following by liver cyst (2 cases), kidney cyst (1 case) and peritoneal cyst (1 case), orderly. All cases were accidentally detected from histological examination of surgical or autopsy specimens. Most (90%) were identified as E. granulosus infection; however, there was 1 case with E. multilocularis infection. Surgical removals were performed in all except 1 case. Antiparasitic drugs were prescribed in 5 cases: albendazole in 3 cases and albendazole with praziquantel in 2 case. Concerning the two lethal cases, one had neither surgical removal nor antiparasitic drug, the other had both surgical removal and antiparasitic drug but there was accidental rupture of the cyst during surgery. Conclusion: In conclusion, the hydatid disease is a rare cestode infection that is sporadically reported in Thailand. The surgical removal seems to be still an effective method for treatment.