title: Human pulmonary dirofilariasis presenting as a small nodule with a cavity.
abstract: A 73-year-old woman had a 4-year history of lung fibrosis from collagen vascular disease. She presented with a complaint of dry cough. A chest radiograph showed a 2-cm solitary pulmonary nodule with a small cavity in the right lower lobe. Preoperatively, we performed computed tomography of the chest and measured tumor markers. Video-assisted thoracotomy was performed because we could not rule out lung cancer. Pathologic analysis confirmed the presence of a granuloma with Dirofilaria immitis. In Japan, the incidence of human dirofilariasis has steadily increased and must be considered in the workup of cavitary pulmonary nodules.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sako
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Burioka
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suyama
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kinugasa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirai
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shimizu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004183:Dirofilaria immitis; D004184:Dirofilariasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008174:Lung Diseases, Parasitic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology