Delayed Surgical Treatment of a CE1 Lung Cyst Resulting in Pericystectomy of CE4 Cyst.

Lung is the second most common locationof cystic echinococcosis (CE), after the liver. Diagnosis of lung CE is often incidental, and clinical manifestations depend on the location and size of the cyst, the most common being chest pain, shortness of breath, expectoration of fragments of endocyst, and haemoptysis. Surgery is the primary treatment, with a minor role for medical therapy.

Simultaneous Echinococcal superinfection in a patient with polycystic liver disease.

Key Clinical Message: Concurrent polycystic liver disease and echinococcus infection can hinder diagnosis. Surgery may be needed for accurate diagnosis and treatment. Multidisciplinary collaboration is crucial.

The WEST Study: A Retrospective and Multicentric Study on the Impact of Steroid Therapy in West Nile Encephalitis.

Background: The use of steroid therapy in potentially life-threatening neuroinvasive forms of West Nile infection (WNND) is controversial. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of steroid therapy in reducing intrahospital mortality, length of stay, and neurological sequelae at discharge.

Methods: This was a multicenter, retrospective, observational study conducted in 5 hospitals in Northern Italy, headed by the Fondazione IRCSS Policlinico San Matteo (Pavia).

Conservative Management of Liver Echinococcal Cysts in Pregnant Women: One Center's Experience in Pavia, Italy.

Human cystic echinococcosis (CE) in pregnancy is rarely reported, with approximately one case of CE for every 20,000 to 30,000 pregnant women in endemic areas. Little information on its management is available. We report our experience with a watch-and-wait approach in this group of patients.

Prospective collection of clinical data on cystic echinococcosis: experience with the European Registry of Cystic Echinococcosis in Pavia, Italy.

Background: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a chronic, complex and neglected infection that may cause serious disease in humans. Given its peculiar epidemiologic and clinical features, collection of clinical data is challenging. Notification systems, when available, fail to record important clinical features, available data are mostly retrospectively collected and no prospectively enrolled uniform surveillance systems exist.

Field Performance of a Rapid Diagnostic Test for the Serodiagnosis of Abdominal Cystic Echinococcosis in the Peruvian Highlands.

We evaluated the performance of a commercial rapid diagnostic test (RDT) in a field setting for the diagnosis of abdominal cystic echinococcosis (CE) using sera collected during an ultrasound population screening in a highly endemic region of the Peruvian Andes. Abdominal CE was investigated by ultrasonography. Sera collected from individuals with abdominal CE (cases) and age- and gender-matched volunteers with no abdominal CE (controls) were tested independently in two laboratories (Peru and Italy) using the VIRapid® HYDATIDOSIS RDT and RIDASCREEN® Echinococcus IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Diagnostic Performances of Commercial ELISA, Indirect Hemagglutination, and Western Blot in Differentiation of Hepatic Echinococcal and Non-Echinococcal Lesions: A Retrospective Analysis of Data from a Single Referral Centre.

The diagnosis of cystic echinococcosis (CE) is based on imaging. Serology supports imaging in suspected cases, but no consensus exists on the algorithm to apply when imaging is inconclusive. We performed a retrospective analysis of serology results of patients with untreated hepatic CE and non-CE lesions, seen from 2005 to 2017, to evaluate their accuracy in the differential diagnosis of hepatic CE.

Correction to: Role of microRNAs in host defense against Echinococcus granulosus infection: a preliminary assessment.

The published article unfortunately contained mistake. After replacing the image from colored version to black and white, the Fig. 1 caption, unfortunately, was left unupdated.

Role of microRNAs in host defense against Echinococcus granulosus infection: a preliminary assessment.

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a neglected helminthic zoonosis caused by the larval stage of the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus s.l. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are regulators of gene expression that have been linked with the pathogenesis of several human diseases, but little exists in the available literature about miRNAs in CE.

Shortage of Albendazole and Its Consequences for Patients with Cystic Echinococcosis Treated at a Referral Center in Italy.

Albendazole (ABZ) is the best drug available to treat cystic echinococcosis (CE), a neglected tropical disease. Cystic echinococcosis patients often receive a continuous course of the drug for 6-12 months. In Italy, ABZ shortages occur almost on a yearly basis.

Watch and Wait Approach for Inactive Echinococcal Cyst of the Liver: An Update.

Human cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a chronic, complex and neglected infection causing severe disease in humans. Hepatic CE cysts are detected and classified mainly by using ultrasound. Expert opinion and published data suggest that uncomplicated inactive liver cysts do not require treatment and only need to be monitored over time ("Watch and Wait").

Evaluation of Inter-System Variability in Liver Stiffness Measurements.

Aim:  The primary aim of this study was to determine the inter-system variability of liver stiffness measurements (LSMs) in patients with varying degrees of liver stiffness. The secondary aim was to determine the inter-observer variability of measurements.

Materials And Methods:  21 individuals affected by chronic hepatitis C and 5 healthy individuals were prospectively enrolled.

Preliminary Evaluation of Percutaneous Treatment of Echinococcal Cysts without Injection of Scolicidal Agent.

Puncture, Aspiration, Injection of scolicidal agent, Re-aspiration is the most widely used percutaneous treatment of cystic echinococcosis (CE). Among its perceived risks is chemical sclerosing cholangitis, a serious complication due to the caustic effect of the scolicidal solution on the biliary tree, when a patent cystobiliary fistula occurs. To simplify the protocol, we decided to omit injection and reaspiration of the scolicidal agent and to implement a full course of albendazole (ABZ) therapy instead of the routine 1-month ABZ prophylaxis.

Ruling-in and Ruling-out Significant Fibrosis and Cirrhosis in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Using a Shear Wave Measurement Method.

Aims: To prospectively assess the cutoff values of a point shear wave measurement (SWM) method for ruling-in and ruling-out significant fibrosis and cirrhosis using transient elastography (TE) as the reference standard.

Method: Consecutive patients with chronic hepatitis C were enrolled. Liver stiffness was assessed with the SWM method implemented on the HI VISION Ascendus ultrasound system (Hitachi Ltd, Japan) and with the TE method of the FibroScan® device (Echosens, France).

Noninvasive assessment of liver steatosis in children: the clinical value of controlled attenuation parameter.

Background: To assess the clinical validity of controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) in the diagnosis of hepatic steatosis in a series of overweight or obese children by using the imperfect gold standard methodology.

Methods: Consecutive children referred to our institution for auxological evaluation or obesity or minor elective surgery were prospectively enrolled. Anthropometric and biochemical parameters were recorded.

Accuracy of the ElastPQ Technique for the Assessment of Liver Fibrosis in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C: a "Real Life" Single Center Study.

Background And Aims: Noninvasive assessment of liver stiffness has been increasingly used to evaluate fibrosis instead of liver biopsy, especially in patients with chronic viral hepatitis. The aim of this study was to assess the performance in staging liver fibrosis of the updated ElastPQ® technique (EPIQ7 ultrasound system, Philips Healthcare, Bothell, WA, USA) in the "real life" setting by using the FibroScan as the reference standard and to understand whether the use of the quality criteria improves the performance of the technique.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study: 278 patients affected by chronic hepatitis C referred for liver stiffness measurement with the FibroScan® 502 Touch device (Echosens, Paris, France) underwent measurements also with the ElastPQ® technique.

The clinical value of controlled attenuation parameter for the noninvasive assessment of liver steatosis.

Background & Aims: Ultrasound is the imaging modality most widely utilized in the general population for diagnostic purposes. Controlled attenuation parameter is a novel noninvasive method for assessing steatosis. Our aim was to investigate whether the clinical value of controlled attenuation parameter in patients referred for abdominal ultrasound examinations is affected by liver fibrosis.

Liver stiffness assessed by transient elastography in patients with β thalassaemia major.

Rationale For The Study: This cross-sectional multicenter study was conducted to investigate any difference in liver stiffness measurements (LSM), evaluated by transient elastography, between patients affected by β thalassaemia major, with and without hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, and healthy blood donors (controls). Secondary aim was to assess any correlation between transient elastography and serum ferritin, liver magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T2* or superconductive quantum interference device (SQUID) liver susceptometry values.

Materials And Methods: The study involved three centers.

Factors Influencing the Serological Response in Hepatic Echinococcus granulosus Infection.

Knowledge of variables influencing serology is crucial to evaluate serology results for the diagnosis and clinical management of cystic echinococcosis (CE). We analyzed retrospectively a cohort of patients with hepatic CE followed in our clinic in 2000-2012 to evaluate the influence of several variables on the results of commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and indirect hemagglutination (IHA) tests. Sera from 171 patients with ≥ 1 hepatic CE cyst, and 90 patients with nonparasitic cysts were analyzed.

Patterns of Hepatosplenic Brucella Abscesses on Cross-Sectional Imaging: A Review of Clinical and Imaging Features.

While diffuse involvement of liver and spleen is frequently seen in brucellosis, suppurative abscesses caused by Brucella are less common but well described. With the increased availability of cross-sectional imaging techniques, reports have become more frequent. Four patients with hepatosplenic abscesses caused by Brucella spp.