ABSTRACT

Hydatid disease is a parasitic infection caused by a tapeworm of the genus Echinococcus. There are three known species of Echinococcus that lead to the disease among humans. E. granulosus is the most common of the three. A 26-year-old man admitted to emergency room with a cough, dyspnea, tachycardia, and chest pain was hospitalized with suspected pneumonia. The patient was in poor general condition and was conscious. On physical examination, fever: 37.3°C/axillary, blood pressure: 165/100 mmHg, cardiac pulse: 114/min, remarkable bilateral pretibial edema, peripheral cyanosis, and disseminated rales and rhonchi were found. Chest radiography showed the multiple disseminated cystic formations, and thorax computed tomography showed remarkable dilatation in the ring of pulmonary artery, and multiple cystic formations in the lung area. The disseminated pulmonary hydatid cyst disease was diagnosed according to clinical and laboratory findings. Albendazole 800 mg/kg daily was administered to the patient for three months. The patient recovered markedly after this treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first case of primary disseminated pulmonary hydatid cyst to manifest with right-side cardiac failure. In endemic areas, the morbidity and mortality due to hydatid cyst may be decreased if hydatid cyst is considered among patients with suspected radiologic findings.

Keywords: Hydatid cyst, Echinococcus, cystic echinococcus, mediastinal cyst, pulmonary cyst