Subcutaneous rupture of hepatic hydatid cyst: CT findings

Abstract

The liver represents one of the most common sites of human hydatid disease [ 1 Pedrosa I. Saìz A. Arrazola J. Ferreiròs J. Pedrosa C.S. Hydatid disease: radiological and pathological features and complications. Radiographics. 2000; 20: 795-817 Crossref PubMed Scopus (581) Google Scholar , 2 Lo Casto A. Salerno S. Grisanti M. Mastrandrea G. Hydatid cyst of the liver communicating with the left colon. Br J Radiol. 1997; 70: 650-651 PubMed Google Scholar ]. Complications of hepatic hydatid disease include cyst rupture and infection. Rupture is a common complication of hepatic hydatid cysts (HHC) and may be the clinical presentation of the disease [ 1 Pedrosa I. Saìz A. Arrazola J. Ferreiròs J. Pedrosa C.S. Hydatid disease: radiological and pathological features and complications. Radiographics. 2000; 20: 795-817 Crossref PubMed Scopus (581) Google Scholar , 2 Lo Casto A. Salerno S. Grisanti M. Mastrandrea G. Hydatid cyst of the liver communicating with the left colon. Br J Radiol. 1997; 70: 650-651 PubMed Google Scholar ]. Sites of rupture include: bile duct, gastrointestinal tract, bronchi, peritoneal and pleural cavity [ 1 Pedrosa I. Saìz A. Arrazola J. Ferreiròs J. Pedrosa C.S. Hydatid disease: radiological and pathological features and complications. Radiographics. 2000; 20: 795-817 Crossref PubMed Scopus (581) Google Scholar , 2 Lo Casto A. Salerno S. Grisanti M. Mastrandrea G. Hydatid cyst of the liver communicating with the left colon. Br J Radiol. 1997; 70: 650-651 PubMed Google Scholar ]; however, rupture into the subcutaneous tissue is extremely rare [ [3] Parmar H. Nagarajan G. Supe A. Subcutaneous rupture of hepatic hydatid cyst. Scand J Infect Dis. 2001; 33: 870-872 Crossref PubMed Scopus (18) Google Scholar ]. We present the computed tomography (CT) findings of a patient with clinically manifested HHC with subcutaneous rupture in the abdominal wall.