Current trends in the management of hydatid disease: Surgeons' perspective

Abstract

Background: Surgery was the only known curative treatment for hydatid disease. Currently, this is being changed. Aims: The aim of this study was to explore the evolution of our management policy for hydatid disease. Patients and Methods: We retrieved records of patients with hydatid disease, treated in our unit in the period from January 1998 to February 2012. Results: Twenty-seven patients were identified. For comparison and driven by the appearance of nonsurgical means in the series, patients were divided into two groups: the first group included the first 12 patients and the second group included the last 15 patients. In the first group, all patients received surgery and only two (16.7%) received postoperative albendazole therapy. In the second group, only four patients (26.7%) received surgery with perioperative pharmacotherapy, eight patients (53.3%) received pharmacotherapy alone, and three patients (20%) received puncture-aspiration-injection-reaspiration (PAIR) with periprocedural pharmacotherapy. In those who received surgery with adjuvant pharmacotherapy, one patient died and the cyst disappeared in the remaining three. In those who received PAIR, the cyst disappeared in one case and regressed in the other two. In those who received pharmacotherapy alone, two patients showed disappearance of the cyst, one showed partial response, and five are under follow-up. Conclusions: Surgery is no longer the first-line treatment for hydatid disease. It should be reserved for complicated cases and those presenting as an emergency. When applied, surgery should be backed by pharmacotherapy which has a pivotal role, both as a sole agent and as an adjunctive to therapy.