Hepatic cystic and alveolar echinococcosis co-infections: a report of 3 cases

Abstract

To investigate the diagnosis and surgical treatment of co-infection with hepatic cystic and alveolar echinococcosis, so as to provide insights into the diagnosis and treatment of these patients. The clinical data of patients with co-infections of hepatic cystic and alveolar echinococcosis in Qinghai Provincial People's Hospital between 2017 and 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Three patients were diagnosed with co-infection of hepatic cystic and alveolar echinococcosis. One patient was diagnosed by preoperative CT scan, and confirmed intraoperatively. The other two cases were diagnosed as cystic echinococcosis by preoperative color ultrasonography and imaging examinations, and were definitively diagnosed as co-infection of hepatic cystic and alveolar echinococcosis by intraoperative examination of the lesion morphology and postoperative pathology. Two patients were given radical surgery, and another case was given removal of the internal capsule and subtotal excision of the outer capsule of Echinococcus granulous in the liver following exploration. Co-infection with hepatic cystic and alveolar echinococcosis is easy for missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis prior to operation, and the definitive diagnosis may be made by means of imaging examinations combined with postoperative pathology. The surgery is relatively complicated and difficult for patients with co-infection of hepatic cystic and alveolar echinococcosis, and individualized surgical treatment regimen should be employed for patients with various types of infections.