Parasitic Infections. Dyspnea, Edema, and Abdominal Distention

Abstract

Hydatid disease is a zoonosis that occurs worldwide and is a public health problem. We report a case of a liver hydatid cyst with fistulation to the pleural cavity in a 65-year-old woman who came to the Emergency Room with dyspnea and abdominal distension without fever. A computed tomography (CT) demonstrated a giant solid-cystic mass in the right hepatic lobe with pleural involvement, compatible with a hydatid cyst ruptured in the pleural cavity. The patient was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to respiratory failure, which ended in orotracheal intubation after 2 weeks. Surgical intervention was considered 1 week after diagnosis and after treatment with albendazole, but it was discarded by the surgery team because of the extension of the disease and the pulmonary involvement. In the meantime, the patient suffered VAP and severe bilateral pulmonary fibrosis leading to irreversible respiratory failure compelling the team to withdraw supportive care, resulting in the death of the patient on her fourth week of admission.