Accelerated Course of Alveolar Echinococcosis After Treatment With Steroids in a Patient With Autoimmune Encephalitis

Stefan Diem; Bruno Gottstein; Guido Beldi; Nasser Semmo; Lara F Diem

doi:10.7759/cureus.18831

Accelerated Course of Alveolar Echinococcosis After Treatment With Steroids in a Patient With Autoimmune Encephalitis

Cureus. 2021 Oct 16;13(10):e18831. doi: 10.7759/cureus.18831. eCollection 2021 Oct.

Authors

Stefan Diem¹, Bruno Gottstein², Guido Beldi¹, Nasser Semmo¹, Lara F Diem³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Visceral Surgery and Medicine, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, CHE.
² Institute of Infectious Disease, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, CHE.
³ Department of Neurology, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, CHE.

Abstract

Human alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a zoonotic infection caused by the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis. We report the case of a patient who developed an accelerated course of AE with diffuse liver involvement after high-dose steroid treatment for autoimmune encephalitis. Immunosuppressive therapies present us with new challenges regarding the management of AE. With this article, we would like to draw attention to the importance of a screening program for AE before planned immunosuppressive therapy.

Keywords: case report; echinococcosis; immunosuppression; liver metastases; reactivation; steroids.

Publication types

Case Reports