Abstract
Echinococcus multilocularis (EM) is the most virulent species of the genus Echinococcus. It causes a highly lethal helminthic disease in humans. The disease may present as hepatic mass mimicking a malignant neoplasm. Due to the vascular and neural invasion, protean clinical manifestations including Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) may be the clinical presentation of this condition. We herein report three cases of Echinococcus multilocularis; the first case presenting as multiple hepatic space-occupying lesions, second as liver mass infiltrating the nerve bundles, and the third as a hepatic mass infiltrating the large vessels including inferior vena cava and right hepatic vein presenting as BCS. EM is a parasite with capabilities of mass-forming effect, neural and vascular invasion. Though cases of BCS have been described, most of these are due to secondary compression and rarely by direct parasitic invasion.
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NB, VV, MR, MW, and AK declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Bansal, N., Vij, V., Rastogi, M. et al. A report on three patients with Echinococcus multilocularis: Lessons learned. Indian J Gastroenterol 37, 353–358 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12664-018-0860-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12664-018-0860-y