title: Human pulmonary dirofilariasis: a case report and review of the recent Japanese literature.
abstract: Human pulmonary dirofilariasis is a rare zoonotic infection caused by the dog heartworm Dirofilaria immitis, which is transmitted via a vector/intermediate host, generally the mosquito. The authors present a case of histologically diagnosed human pulmonary dirofilariasis, in which the lesion was resected using video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). The authors also review 24 cases of such zoonosis reported in Japan from 1998 to 2004. Of these 24 patients with human pulmonary dirofilariasis, 12 (50%) were men (mean age 54 years, range 29-80 years) and 67% were asymptomatic. Most patients (83%) had a solitary lung nodule, 95% of the lesions were <30 mm and 13% had a pleural effusion. VATS was performed to obtain a histopathological diagnosis in the majority (61%) of patients whom the authors reviewed. VATS would appear to be the best method for diagnosing pulmonary dirofilariasis.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Surgery, Fukuoka University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan. dango-musi@umin.ac.jp
authors.forename: Tatsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyoshi
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsubouchi
authors.forename: Akinori
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iwasaki
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shiraishi
authors.forename: Kazuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nabeshima
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shirakusa
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004183:Dirofilaria immitis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004184:Dirofilariasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008174:Lung Diseases, Parasitic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000601:surgery; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed