title: Filarial hydropneumothorax: a strange journey.
abstract: Filarial infection can have varied manifestations, but hydropneumothorax at presentation has not yet been reported. A 28-year-old man presented to our hospital with heaviness of the left chest for the past 10 days, which was preceded by a sudden, short stabbing pain in the left chest after straining. Chest X-ray revealed left-sided hydropneumothorax. A peripheral blood picture revealed significant eosinophilia. A pleural fluid report also showed eosinophilia and a few motile microfilaria of Wuchereria bancrofti. Microfilaria was also documented in peripheral blood. There was no evidence of other organ system involvement. The patient was diagnosed with 'Filarial Hydropneumothorax'. After treatment with a temporary chest drain and oral diethylcarbamazine citrate, there was dramatic relief of symptoms and radiological improvement. The patient has been symptom free with no features of recurrence through 8 months of follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Medicine, Medical College Kolkata, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Arkaprabha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chakraborty
authors.affiliation: Department of General Medicine, Medical College Kolkata, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Anindya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, NRS Medical College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Payel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Talukdar
authors.affiliation: Department of General Medicine, Medical College Kolkata, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Arunansu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Talukdar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000209:etiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D015505:Chest Tubes; D004049:Diethylcarbamazine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004322:Drainage / Q000379:methods*; D005368:Filariasis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D005369:Filaricides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D006872:Hydropneumothorax / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014958:Wuchereria bancrofti / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D005369:Filaricides; D004049:Diethylcarbamazine