BACKGROUND: The parasitic infection hydatidosis or echinococcosis, is a parasitic infection caused most frequently by flatworm Echinococcus granulosus. Hydatidosis is endemic in Turkey where animal husbandry is common. Eventhough, Hydatid disease can develop anywhere in the human body it is most frequently occurs in the liver and then the lungs. Rupture of hydatid cysts into the peritoneal cavity, although rare, still presents a challenge for the surgeon. CASE: A 20-year-old man presented with ileus after 24 hours of mild abdominal distention, pain and nausea. On examination his abdomen was tender, with guarding and rebound tenderness and had a 3 cm long subcostal incision scar. All laboratory investigations were in the normal range. Exploratory laparotomy revealed multiple peritoneal cyst hydatid lesions with the largest measuring 10 cm in size and one also located in the right lobe of the liver. CONCLUSIONS: Rupture of hydatid cysts into the peritoneal cavity, although rare, still presents a challenge for the surgeon. This pathology should be included in the differential diagnosis of acute abdomen in endemic areas, especially in patients with a history of cyst hydatid (Fig. 1, Ref. 12). Full Text (Free, PDF) www.bmj.sk.
BACKGROUND: The parasitic infection hydatidosis or echinococcosis, is a parasitic infection caused most frequently by flatworm Echinococcus granulosus. Hydatidosis is endemic in Turkey where animal husbandry is common. Eventhough, Hydatid disease can develop anywhere in the human body it is most frequently occurs in the liver and then the lungs. Rupture of hydatid cysts into the peritoneal cavity, although rare, still presents a challenge for the surgeon. CASE: A 20-year-old man presented with ileus after 24 hours of mild abdominal distention, pain and nausea. On examination his abdomen was tender, with guarding and rebound tenderness and had a 3 cm long subcostal incision scar. All laboratory investigations were in the normal range. Exploratory laparotomy revealed multiple peritoneal cyst hydatid lesions with the largest measuring 10 cm in size and one also located in the right lobe of the liver. CONCLUSIONS: Rupture of hydatid cysts into the peritoneal cavity, although rare, still presents a challenge for the surgeon. This pathology should be included in the differential diagnosis of acute abdomen in endemic areas, especially in patients with a history of cyst hydatid (Fig. 1, Ref. 12). Full Text (Free, PDF) www.bmj.sk.