title: A case of giardiasis expressing severe systemic symptoms and marked hypereosinophilia.
abstract: An 88-year-old Japanese woman was referred to our hospital due to a one-month history of face edema, aphagia, shortness of breath, and skin rush over almost her entire skin. She had no abdominal symptoms. Her peripheral blood count showed a white blood cell (WBC) count of 27.1x10(9)/L with 82.1% eosinophils. Serum non-specific Immunoglobulin E was within a normal range. Soluble interleukin-2 receptor was elevated to 4200U/mL. At first, her eosinophil count was so high that we suspected she had an eosinophilic leukemia or hypereosinophilic syndrome. After admission, cysts of Giardia duodenalis (G. duodenalis) were detected in the patient's feces by microscopic analysis, then she was diagnosed with giardiasis, and 750mg per day of metronidazole was administered for seven days. Her WBC count decreased to 6.0x10(9)/L with 10% eosinophils, and her systemic symptoms improved. At that time her serum IL-5 was within a normal range. A few months later, the patient again complained of skin rush, and G. duodenalis was once again found in her feces. Her serum IL-5 was elevated to 751pg/mL. Metronidazole was administered for two weeks, and her eosinophil count decreased. G. duodenalis is a protozoan parasite, and it is one of the most common waterborne transmission gastrointestinal parasites in the world. G. duodenalis rarely causes hypereosinophilia. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of giardiasis with extreme hypereosinophilia and severe systemic symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kitasato, Sagamihara, Japan. ysuzuki-hki@umin.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yuhko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Masaharu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tokoro
authors.forename: Tomiteru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Togano
authors.forename: Manabu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohsaka
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kohri
authors.forename: Yasuyoshi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirata
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
authors.forename: Mikio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Danbara
authors.forename: Ryouichi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Horie
authors.forename: Ikuo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sunakawa
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Higashihara
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004802:Eosinophilia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D005872:Giardia / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005873:Giardiasis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology; D006801:Humans; D015848:Interleukin-5 / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015848:Interleukin-5