Open AccessThe first Korean case of human pulmonary dirofilariasis
Author(s) -
Kyu-Jae Lee,
Gab Man Park,
Tai Soon Yong,
Kyung Il Im,
Soon Hee Jung,
Nak Young Jeong,
Won-Yeon Lee,
Suk Joong Yong,
Kye Chul Shin
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
yonsei medical journal/yonsei medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.702
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1976-2437
pISSN - 0513-5796
DOI - 10.3349/ymj.2000.41.2.285
Subject(s) - medicine , dirofilariasis , chest radiograph , lesion , dirofilaria immitis , lung , pathology , radiology , radiography , helminths , immunology
Human pulmonary dirofilariasis has been documented from many parts of the world, but not in Korea so far. We experienced a patient of pulmonary dirofilariasis who had visited a local clinic because of chest pain for 1 month. On chest radiograph, a coin lesion of 2 cm diameter and enlargement of the mediastinal lymph node were shown. An exploratory lung resection was done. Pathologically the lesion was a pulmonary dirofilariasis complicated with necrotic pneumonia, fibrosis, and infarction. At the center of the lesion, degenerated nematode sections with multilayered cuticle, thick musculature, and bilateral internal ridges on each side were found, which was identified to be Dirofilaria immitis. This is the first report of human pulmonary dirofilariasis in Korea.