Visceral larva migrans-like syndrome caused by Angiostrongylus costaricensis.
In two cases of ectopic localization of Angiostrongylus costaricensis adult worms and eggs were seen in the liver, causing a granulomatous inflammatory reaction with dense eosinophilic infiltration and necrosis. In the first case, although antibodies for A. costaricensis had been demonstrated, a clinical diagnosis of visceral larva migrans was recorded; however, further examination of a liver biopsy revealed eggs of A. costaricensis. In the second case, severity of the intestinal pathology masked the presence of lesions and an adult A. costaricensis that were discovered in a retrospective study of the liver 13 years later. A close similarity between the visceral larva migrans syndrome and ectopic localization (liver) of A. costaricensis is established.
D000801:Angiostrongylus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004802:Eosinophilia; D006099:Granuloma; D006801:Humans; D007816:Larva Migrans, Visceral / Q000209:etiology*; D008099:Liver / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008681:Metastrongyloidea / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009336:Necrosis; D009349:Nematode Infections / Q000469:parasitology*