Hydatid cyst in the pulmonary artery; a meta-analysis

Background: It is uncommon to have a hydatid cyst in the pulmonary artery. Typically, it results from an intracardiac cyst or a surgical cyst rupturing from a primary hepatic hydatid cyst. The objective of this meta-analysis is to quantitatively describe this rare disease.  Methods: The electronic databases "Google Scholar" and "PubMed" were searched exhaustively for all pertinent publications in the English language. To explain the clinical parameters, the collected data was assembled and computationally processed. Its epidemiology was also mapped.  Results: A total of 45 papers were initially found by the systematic search; however, only 16 studies that comprised 16 patients were included. Eight of the patients were male and eight were female. Hemoptysis, dyspnea, bloody sputum, vomiting, and shortness of breath were the clinically significant symptoms. Seventy-five percent of the patients had a history of hepatic hydatid disease, followed by three patients with primary lung cystic lesions and one patient with primary cardiac lesions. Severe pulmonary hypertension, septic shock, and massive hemoptysis all contributed to the death of three pulmonary echinococcosis patients. Conclusion: Localization of hydatid cysts inside the pulmonary artery is an uncommon but life-threatening condition. Surgery may be the only choice for some patients. The surgery outcomes depend on the patient's current condition and the severity of their underlying diseases.