Pleural Complications of Thoracic Hydatid Cysts

Human hydatid disease is a parasitic infection caused by the development in humans of the larval form of the dog tapeworm, Echinococcus granulosus. Humans are accidental hosts. Rupture of a thoracic hydatid cyst into the pleural cavity is a rare presentation of the disease. It manifests as a pleural effusion. This retrospective study examined three patient records collected at the Pulmonology and Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Clinics of the Fann University Hospital in Dakar between January 2005 and December 2012. These patients presented with pleural effusion due to rupture of a thoracic hydatid cyst. All patients were women from Mauritania with a mean age of 24.3 years. Functional symptoms were nonspecific, and examination revealed a pneumothorax in two cases and a pyopneumothorax in one case. Chest X-rays and chest CT scans suggested a diagnosis of ruptured pulmonary hydatid disease into the pleural cavity in one case.