Visceral larva migrans mimicking rheumatic diseases.

OBJECTIVE: To report rheumatologic or rheumatologic-like manifestations of the visceral larva migrans (VLM) syndrome. METHODS: We carried out a prospective study of patients with VLM seen in a private practice setting in Mexico City between 1990 and 1993. RESULTS: From a population of 600 patients we identified 6 patients (5 women) with VLM. Three patients complained of arthralgia; in 4 a history of migratory cutaneous lesions was elicited, and in one monoarthritis of the right knee was found. One patient had deep edema that suggested thrombophlebitis of the right arm; the man in our series had right testicular swelling during followup. In 2 cases, panniculitis was documented by biopsy and in one, small vessel vasculitis. Four patients had frequent contact with dogs and one with cats; 4 patients frequently ate raw fish. The diagnosis of VLM was confirmed either by the clinical picture, biopsy, or ELISA: CONCLUSION: The spectrum of rheumatological manifestations in VLM may be wider than previously thought.

Clinical and laboratorial features of visceral toxocariasis in infancy.

Forty children with a diagnosis of Visceral Toxocariasis were evaluated prospectively from February 1982 to June 1989. Diagnosis was established by clinical, laboratory and serological (ELISA - ES Toxocara canis antigen) evaluations. A great clinical polymorphism was found in our patients, ranging from unspecific or absent manifestations to an exuberant symptomatology. The laboratory findings were: leukocytosis, eosinophilia and elevation of serum gammaglobulin and isohemagglutinin levels. No significant relationship between clinical findings and laboratory parameters was found. Serology (ELISA) was a method of great diagnostic support but did not show a correlation with clinical and laboratory findings in this study. There was a significant relationship between pulmonary manifestations and the presence of signs and/or symptoms, when the patients were sent to us. Our findings, especially the high incidence of pulmonary manifestations, suggest that Visceral Toxocariasis has to be included in the differential diagnostic of children with pulmonary manifestations, characteristic epidemiological data and associated eosinophilia.

Toxocariasis ocular: tratamiento médico y quirúrgico

La toxocariasis es una parasitosis de distribución mundial que afecta principalmente a niños y adolecentes. El globo coular es afectado en su segmento posterior, existiendo varias presentaciones clínicas. Este trabajo describe retrospectivamente 4 pacientes con un diagnóstico clinico y serológico de toxocariasis ocular. Los pacientes fueron tratados médicamente con albendazol y prednisona. El tratamiento quirúrgico consistió en vitrectomía y membranectomía. Los resultados visuales dependieron del sitio y tipo de lesión encontrada en la retina que condicionó la posibilidad de tratamiento quirúrgico, y no del tipo de evolución de la enfermedad.