Orbital sparganosis in an 8-year boy: a case report

Xin Xie,Guizhen Sun,Bo Ding,Lei Feng,Jianghua Hu

doi:10.1186/s12886-018-0675-8

Xin Xie, Guizhen Sun + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12886-018-0675-8

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Abstract

BackgroundSparganosis is one of the neglected but important food-borne parasitic zoonoses, with higher prevalence in Asian countries. The infection is commonly located in the subcutaneous tissue, brain, breast, and lung, but fewer reported infections involve the eye. Because the majority of patients with sparganosis are adults, it is likely to be missed in children.Case presentationAn 8-year-old boy presented to our clinic complaining of a painless ocular mass in his right eye for 1 month. The boy had a history of eating frogs and frog poultice applications to his eyelids. The patient was checked for an elliptical mass near the medial wall of the right eye. Serodiagnosis testing was positive in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. During surgical operation on the patient, calcified parasite eggs and foreign body granulomatous reaction were found using histological examination. Due to early detection and surgery, the patient fully recovered with no damage to his eyesight.ConclusionsAlthough rare, ocular sparganosis should be suspected in a mass of the eye when there is a history of eating frogs and frog poultice applications on eyelids. Early surgical resection is important for a good prognosis.

Highlights

Sparganosis is one of the neglected but important food-borne parasitic zoonoses, with higher prevalence in Asian countries
Conclusions: rare, ocular sparganosis should be suspected in a mass of the eye when there is a history of eating frogs and frog poultice applications on eyelids
Surgical resection is important for a good prognosis

Summary

Introduction

Sparganosis is one of the neglected but important food-borne parasitic zoonoses, with higher prevalence in Asian countries. Conclusions: rare, ocular sparganosis should be suspected in a mass of the eye when there is a history of eating frogs and frog poultice applications on eyelids. Background Sparganosis is a zoonotic parasitic infection caused by migrating plerocercoid tapeworm larvae (sparganum) of the genus Spirometra [1]. Because the majority of patients with sparganosis are adults, it is likely to be missed in children [4].

Results

Conclusion