TY - JOUR
T1 - Cystic Echinococcosis of the Bone: A European Multicenter Study
AU - Cattaneo, Letizia
AU - Manciulli, Tommaso
AU - Cretu, Carmen-Michaela
AU - Giordani, Maria Teresa
AU - Angheben, Andrea
AU - Bartoloni, Alessandro
AU - Zammarchi, Lorenzo
AU - Bartalesi, Filippo
AU - Richter, Joachim
AU - Chiodini, Peter
AU - Godbole, Gauri
AU - Junghanss, Thomas
AU - Stojkovic, Marija
AU - Sammarchi, Luigi
AU - Dore, Roberto
AU - Vercelli, Alessandro
AU - Benazzo, Francesco
AU - Cuzzocrea, Fabrizio
AU - Tamarozzi, Francesca
AU - Brunetti, Enrico
PY - 2019/3
Y1 - 2019/3
N2 - Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonosis caused by the larval stage of the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus. In humans, the infection induces the formation of parasitic cysts mostly in the liver and lungs, but virtually any organ can be affected. CE of the bone is one of the rarest forms of the disease, yet it is also extremely debilitating for patients and hard to manage for clinicians. Unlike abdominal CE, there is currently no expert consensus on the management of bone CE. In this study, we conducted a survey of the clinical records of seven European referral centers for the management of patients with CE and retrieved data on the clinical management of 32 patients with a diagnosis of bone CE. Our survey confirmed that the patients endured chronic debilitating disease with a high rate of complications (84%). We also found that diagnostic approaches were highly heterogeneous. Surgery was extensively used to treat these patients, as well as albendazole, occasionally combined with praziquantel or nitaxozanide. Treatment was curative only for two patients, with one requiring amputation of the involved bone. Our survey highlights the need to conduct systematic studies on bone CE, both retrospectively and prospectively.
AB - Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonosis caused by the larval stage of the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus. In humans, the infection induces the formation of parasitic cysts mostly in the liver and lungs, but virtually any organ can be affected. CE of the bone is one of the rarest forms of the disease, yet it is also extremely debilitating for patients and hard to manage for clinicians. Unlike abdominal CE, there is currently no expert consensus on the management of bone CE. In this study, we conducted a survey of the clinical records of seven European referral centers for the management of patients with CE and retrieved data on the clinical management of 32 patients with a diagnosis of bone CE. Our survey confirmed that the patients endured chronic debilitating disease with a high rate of complications (84%). We also found that diagnostic approaches were highly heterogeneous. Surgery was extensively used to treat these patients, as well as albendazole, occasionally combined with praziquantel or nitaxozanide. Treatment was curative only for two patients, with one requiring amputation of the involved bone. Our survey highlights the need to conduct systematic studies on bone CE, both retrospectively and prospectively.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Adult
KW - Albendazole/therapeutic use
KW - Anthelmintics/therapeutic use
KW - Bone Diseases/epidemiology/parasitology/pathology/therapy
KW - Child
KW - Echinococcosis/epidemiology/pathology
KW - Europe/epidemiology
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Young Adult
U2 - 10.4269/ajtmh.18-0758
DO - 10.4269/ajtmh.18-0758
M3 - Article
VL - 100
SP - 617
EP - 621
JO - American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
JF - American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
SN - 0002-9637
IS - 3
ER -