{"title":"Clinical Characteristics of Human Pulmonary Dirofilariasis in Japan: An Uncommon Differential Diagnosis of a Solitary Pulmonary Nodule.","authors":"Kengo Oshima","doi":"10.7883/yoken.JJID.2022.617","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Human pulmonary dirofilariasis (HPD) is a zoonotic disease caused by Dirofilaria immitis. Most HPD cases are asymptomatic and are either detected during annual health checkups or incidentally identified during the investigation of other diseases, particularly primary or metastatic pulmonary lung cancers. However, the frequency and clinical features of Japanese patients with HPD remain unclear. We analyzed data from the Japanese Medical Abstract Society database and identified 69 cases between 1978 and 2022. The incidence of HPD increased until the 2000s but declined markedly in the 2010s. The incidence is higher in the southwestern region and lower in the northeastern region of Japan. Health checkups are the primary diagnostic opportunities. The Chugoku and Shikoku regions have had high incidence rates per population. The diagnosis of HPD using a noninvasive procedure is typically difficult because of the absence of specific clinical symptoms, and approximately 70% of the cases are detected using video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. Climate change may increase the incidence of HPD in the northeastern region of Japan, and travel to countries with poor vector control may be a risk factor for HPD transmission. Physicians should consider this parasitic infectious disease when examining patients presenting with solitary lung nodules.</p>","PeriodicalId":14608,"journal":{"name":"Japanese journal of infectious diseases","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Japanese journal of infectious diseases","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.7883/yoken.JJID.2022.617","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/5/31 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"INFECTIOUS DISEASES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Human pulmonary dirofilariasis (HPD) is a zoonotic disease caused by Dirofilaria immitis. Most HPD cases are asymptomatic and are either detected during annual health checkups or incidentally identified during the investigation of other diseases, particularly primary or metastatic pulmonary lung cancers. However, the frequency and clinical features of Japanese patients with HPD remain unclear. We analyzed data from the Japanese Medical Abstract Society database and identified 69 cases between 1978 and 2022. The incidence of HPD increased until the 2000s but declined markedly in the 2010s. The incidence is higher in the southwestern region and lower in the northeastern region of Japan. Health checkups are the primary diagnostic opportunities. The Chugoku and Shikoku regions have had high incidence rates per population. The diagnosis of HPD using a noninvasive procedure is typically difficult because of the absence of specific clinical symptoms, and approximately 70% of the cases are detected using video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. Climate change may increase the incidence of HPD in the northeastern region of Japan, and travel to countries with poor vector control may be a risk factor for HPD transmission. Physicians should consider this parasitic infectious disease when examining patients presenting with solitary lung nodules.
期刊介绍:
Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases (JJID), an official bimonthly publication of National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, publishes papers dealing with basic research on infectious diseases relevant to humans in the fields of bacteriology, virology, mycology, parasitology, medical entomology, vaccinology, and toxinology. Pathology, immunology, biochemistry, and blood safety related to microbial pathogens are among the fields covered. Sections include: original papers, short communications, epidemiological reports, methods, laboratory and epidemiology communications, letters to the editor, and reviews.