Pulmonary paragonimiasis.
A 27-year-old married male from Lamdeng village of Imphal West District, Manipur presented with cough, fever, haemoptysis, anorexia and weight loss, and was treated with antituberculosis drugs continuously for one year without improvement. He also had history of ingestion of raw crabs. Chest radiograph revealed right midzone lesion with cavitation. Laboratory investigations revealed peripheral blood eosinophilia, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and sputum smear revealed eggs of Paragonimus westermani. He responeded well to treatment with praziquantel 25 mg/kg, three times a day for three days and is doing well on follow-up. Pulmonary paragonimiasis must be considered in the differential diagnosis of slowly resolving pneumonias, especially in the appropriate clinical setting because effective treatment with praziquantel can be rewarding.
Singh
Th Nabakumar
TN
Department of Microbiology, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal, Manipur, India. nadakr@rediffmail.com
Singh
H Rebachandra
HR
Devi
Kh Sulochana
KhS
Singh
Ng Brajachand
NB
Singh
Y Ibotomba
YI
D000328:Adult; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008174:Lung Diseases, Parasitic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D010237:Paragonimiasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D048492:Paragonimus westermani; D011223:Praziquantel / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis
D000871:Anthelmintics; D011223:Praziquantel