ABSTRACT

Hydatid disease is a parasitic disease. Although the disease causes many organ involvement, intracranial involvement is rarely seen. Clinical findings vary according to the number, size, localization of the cyst and the immune status of the patient. We aimed to present a rare case with intracranial hydatid cyst. A 8-year-old male patient presented with headache and vomiting. Physical examination revealed papillary edema. Brain computerized tomography imaging revealed a 13x13 cm cystic formation in the brain. The patient’s echinococcal indirect hemagglutination test result was positive. The patient was started on oral albendazole therapy for intracranial hydatid cyst and was operated by brain surgery. Pathologic examination of the cyst was compatible with hydatid cyst. Although cysts are detected in the liver and lungs, cysts may be seen in atypically located areas. It should be kept in mind in clinically suspected patients that the disease can develop in rare organs, especially in patients with endemic areas. In patients with hydatid disease, advanced radiological examinations such as lung X-ray, abdominal ultrasonography and brain magnetic resonance imaging and echocardiographic examination should be performed for other organ involvement.

Keywords: Brain, child, echinococcosis, hydatid cyst