Hepatic capillariasis in children: report of 3 cases in Brazil

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1999 Oct;61(4):642-7. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1999.61.642.

Abstract

Capillaria hepatica is a helminth that may cause an extremely rare condition of parasitic hepatitis. Only 29 cases have been published, 2 of them in Brazil. We report here 3 cases of children in Brazil with massive hepatic capillariasis who presented the characteristic triad of this type of infection, i.e., persistent fever, hepatomegaly, and eosinophilia. The diagnosis was made by liver biopsy. All children responded well after treatment with thiabendazole (case 1), albendazole (case 3), and albendazole in combination with a corticoid (case 2). Case 1 has been followed-up for 24 years, an event not previously reported in the literature.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Albendazole / therapeutic use
  • Animals
  • Anthelmintics / therapeutic use
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / therapeutic use
  • Biopsy
  • Brazil
  • Capillaria / pathogenicity*
  • Child, Preschool
  • Enoplida Infections / diagnosis*
  • Enoplida Infections / drug therapy
  • Eosinophilia
  • Female
  • Fever
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Hepatitis / diagnosis*
  • Hepatitis / drug therapy
  • Hepatitis / parasitology
  • Hepatomegaly
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Liver / parasitology*
  • Liver / pathology
  • Liver Diseases, Parasitic / diagnosis*
  • Liver Diseases, Parasitic / drug therapy
  • Male
  • Parasite Egg Count
  • Prednisone / therapeutic use
  • Thiabendazole / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Anthelmintics
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal
  • Albendazole
  • Thiabendazole
  • Prednisone