Polycystic hydatid disease (Echinococcus vogeli). Clinical, laboratory and morphological findings in nine Brazilian patients.

Polycystic hydatid disease occurs in neotropical zones and is caused by Echinococcus vogeli. The paca, a wild rodent, is the intermediate host and the final host is the dog. Seven cases of polycystic hydatid disease autochthonous to the Brazilian Amazon region are described. The disease was polycystic in all cases and diagnosis was based on anatomopathological findings. E. vogeli was identified by the shape and dimensions of the rostellar hooks. The liver was the organ most often involved (6/7), followed by the lungs (2/7) and mesentery (2/7), spleen (1/7) and pancreas (1/7). The main clinical manifestations were abdominal pain, hepatomegaly, jaundice, weight loss, anemia, fever, hemoptysis, palpable abdominal masses and signs of portal hypertension. Hepatic calcifications were detected in four cases. Two cases from the hinterland of the State of São Paulo are also reported. Both had calcified round structures in the liver, highly suggestive of calcified polycystic hydatids. The aim of the present report was to report on this relatively unknown hydatid disorder of Tropical America and to disseminate its clinical, ultrasound and radiological features.