Very prolonged treatment with albendazole of a case of disseminated abdominal cystic echinococcosis

• Published in: Tropical medicine and infectious disease Vol. 8; no. 9; pp. 1 - 6
• Main Authors: Buscemi, Carola, Randazzo, Cristiana, Buscemi, Paolo, Caldarella, Rosalia, Lombardo, Martina, Buscemi, Silvio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland MDPI 01-09-2023; MDPI AG
• Subjects: Abdomen; Albendazole; Antibodies; Care and treatment; Case Report; Case reports; Clinical trials; Contamination; cystic echinococcosis; Cysts; Diabetes; Disease; disseminated cystic echinococcosis; Echinococcosis; Echinococcus granulosus; Evaluation; Food contamination; liver cysts; Patients; Type 2 diabetes; Zoonoses; United States > US; Italy
• DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed8090449
• EISSN: 2414-6366

Cystic echinococcosis is a zoonosis caused by the ingestion of food or water contaminated by 'Echinococcus' eggs. E. granulosus is the most common causative agent of cystic echinococcosis that still has a relevant incidence in Italy, especially on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. We report the case of a 64-year-old man with disseminated abdominal cystic echinococcosis (liver, spleen, peritoneum). The patient was asymptomatic and non-eligible for surgical treatment. Treatment with albendazole 400 mg/twice daily was started in 2012 for 15 cycles (each cycle consisted of three 28-day treatments at 14-day intervals) over 10 years for a total of 1260 days of treatment. Serum anti-'Echinococcus' antibody titers and imaging (echography, TC) were evaluated to monitor the evolution of the disease. Imaging techniques documented the regression of all cyst lesions, but it was less evident for the peritoneal localizations that still are in follow-up. In this case, the prolonged treatment with albendazole was effective, safe and free of side effects. Until today, the patient displays a good clinical condition.