Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Volume 5, Issue 2 , Pages 152-159, February 2007

Advances in Liver Echinococcosis: Diagnosis and Treatment

  • Dimitrios Filippou

      Affiliations

    • First Department of General Surgery, Piraeus General Hospital “Tzaneio,” Piraeus, Athens, Greece
    • Department of General Surgery, Cantonal Hospital, Fribourg, Switzerland
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress requests for reprints to: Dimitrios K. Filippou, MD, PhD, 14, Agias Eirinis str, GR-111 46 Galatsi, Athens, Greece. fax: +30-210-2220892.
  • ,
  • Dimitrios Tselepis

      Affiliations

    • Department of General Surgery, Cantonal Hospital, Fribourg, Switzerland
  • ,
  • Georgios Filippou

      Affiliations

    • First Department of General Surgery, Piraeus General Hospital “Tzaneio,” Piraeus, Athens, Greece
  • ,
  • Vassilios Papadopoulos

      Affiliations

    • Emergency Department, Xanthi General Hospital, Xanthi, Greece

published online 12 December 2006.

Echinococcosis or hydatid cyst disease is a zoonosis caused by the larval cestode Echinococcus granulosus. It consists of a parasitic tapeworm disease affecting mainly liver. Nevertheless, the disease might well spread to more unusual sites such as lungs and brain. The definitive diagnosis of liver echinococcosis requires a combination of imaging, serologic, and immunologic studies. Despite the fact that a number of scolecoidal agents have been developed against liver hydatid disease, the cornerstone of the definitive treatment remains surgery. Both the classic surgical techniques and the recently developed minimally invasive and laparoscopic methods target the eradication of the disease by simultaneously avoiding perioperative spillage and dissemination or recurrence of echinococcosis. The present article constitutes a review of the biology of the parasite as well as the epidemiology, diagnosis, and therapeutic options of the liver hydatid disease.

Abbreviations used in this paper: CoES, counterimmunoelectrophoresis, DDG, double diffusion in gel, ELISA, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, IEP, immunoelectrophoresis test, IFA, immunofluorescence assay, IHT, indirect hemagglutination, PAIR, puncture of the cyst wall, aspiration of cyst content, injection, and re-aspiration of a scolecoidal agent, WHO, World Health Organization

 

PII: S1542-3565(06)00818-4

doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2006.08.017

Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Volume 5, Issue 2 , Pages 152-159, February 2007