title: Pulmonary dirofilariasis in a 59-year-old man.
abstract: We present a case of a human pulmonary dirofilariasis in a 59-year-old man. At the medical examination, a chest computed tomography (CT) revealed a mass, measuring 18 × 15 mm in diameter, with an irregular margin on the bottom of the right lower lobe. We could not neglect the possibility of a primary lung cancer, and therefore, a lung partial resection was performed under video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. The intra-operative pathological findings revealed inflammatory granuloma with coagulation necrosis and no malignant cells. The permanent pathological examination showed occlusion of the peripheral pulmonary artery by worms and formation of a necrotic mass surrounded by reactive inflammation and hemorrhage. Human pulmonary dirofilariasis is an extremely rare zoonotic infection, and sometimes it is difficult to distinguish it from a primary lung cancer on radiographic findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shinkomonji Hospital, Kitakyushu 800-0057, Japan tetsuya@shinkomonji-hp.jp.
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: So
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fukuoka-Wajiro Hospital, Fukuoka 811-0213, Japan.
authors.forename: Reiko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mitsueda
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fukuoka-Wajiro Hospital, Fukuoka 811-0213, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyata
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shintakeo Hospital, Takeo City, Saga 843-0024, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sekimura
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shintakeo Hospital, Takeo City, Saga 843-0024, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshimatsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shinyukuhashi Hospital, Yukuhashi City, Fukuoka 824-0026, Japan.
authors.forename: Naohiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nose
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shinkomonji Hospital, Kitakyushu 800-0057, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shinkomonji Hospital, Kitakyushu 800-0057, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shinkomonji Hospital, Kitakyushu 800-0057, Japan.
authors.forename: Kosei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yasumoto