American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Vol 61, Issue 4, 642-647
Copyright © 1999 by American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Research Articles
Hepatic capillariasis in children: report of 3 cases in Brazil
R Sawamura,
MI Fernandes,
LC Peres,
LC Galvao,
HA Goldani,
SM Jorge,
G de Melo Rocha,
and
NM de Souza
Capillaria hepatica is a helminth that may cause an extremely rare condition of parasitic hepatitis. Only 29 cases have been published, 2 of them in Brazil. We report here 3 cases of children in Brazil with massive hepatic capillariasis who presented the characteristic triad of this type of infection, i.e., persistent fever, hepatomegaly, and eosinophilia. The diagnosis was made by liver biopsy. All children responded well after treatment with thiabendazole (case 1), albendazole (case 3), and albendazole in combination with a corticoid (case 2). Case 1 has been followed-up for 24 years, an event not previously reported in the literature.
