Distended Thoracic Duct and Diffuse Lymphangiectasia Caused by Bancroftian Filariasis

Abstract

3Department of Pathology, Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, HI. ilariasis is a disease endemic to subtropical areas that is rarely encountered in North America. Because this infection rarely occurs in the United States, our knowledge of CT and MRI findings associated with it is limited. To date, the CT and MRI features of filarial lymphangiectasia in a human have not been described. We present a case of diffuse lymphangiectasia in a patient with filariasis as revealed by CT and MRI findings. Case Report A 23-year-old U.S. marine, who was born and raised in Guyana, South America, before emigrating to the United States at age 21, presented to a primary care facility in Japan, his military duty station, with fever and acute abdominal pain radiating to the right groin. Bilateral inguinal adenopathy was found, and a whole-body CT scan revealed what was thought to be diffuse posterior mediastinal, retroperitoneal, pelvic, and inguinal lymphadenopathy. He had no scrotal F