Download PDF
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Journal of Gastrointestinal Infections 2023; 13(02): 079-083
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1776263
Brief Report

Hepatic Visceral Larva Migrans: A Case Series

Suchita Jain
1   Department of Radio-diagnosis and Imaging, Choithram Hospital & Research Centre, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
,
Ajay K. Jain 
2   Department of Gastroenetrology, Choithram Hospital & Research Centre, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
,
Praveen Agrawal
1   Department of Radio-diagnosis and Imaging, Choithram Hospital & Research Centre, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
,
Priyanka Bhagat
3   Department of Pathology, Choithram Hospital & Research Centre, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
,
Debi Chatterji
2   Department of Gastroenetrology, Choithram Hospital & Research Centre, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
› Author Affiliations Funding None.
› Further Information
Also available at
   Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Visceral larva migrans is an uncommon systemic parasitic infection of liver caused by second-stage larva of Toxocara canis or Toxocara catis. The liver is the most common visceral organ to be involved. The diagnosis is usually delayed because of a lack of awareness about visceral larva migrans in adults, with most patients confused with either an abscess or neoplastic nodules. Heterogenous solid cystic, multiple hypodense, and hypovascular lesions on imaging with peripheral eosinophilia make the diagnosis in most cases. We present four adult patients with 2 to 4 weeks of fever and very high peripheral eosinophilia. The liver biopsy in three cases revealed an eosinophilic abscess. All cases on treatment with albendazole showed a good response. Visceral larva migrans must be considered in patients with heterogenous, hypovascular space-occupying liver lesions presenting with fever and peripheral eosinophilia.

Keywords

visceral larva migrans - eosinophilia - parasitic infections of the liver - toxocariasis - albendazole - eosinophilic abscess

Ethical Statement

Ethics Committee of Choithram Hospital & Research Centre approved the submission of this case series for publication.


Data Availability Statement

There is no data associated with this work.


Authors' Contribution

All authors contributed equally to the article.




Publication History

Received: 31 May 2023

Accepted: 07 July 2023

Article published online:
12 October 2023

© 2023. Gastroinstestinal Infection Society of India. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
A-12, 2nd Floor, Sector 2, Noida-201301 UP, India

 

  • References

  • 1 Rohilla S, Jain N, Yadav R, Dhaulakhandi DB. Hepatic visceral larva migrans. BMJ Case Rep 2013; 2013: bcr2013009288
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 2 Baever PC, Jung RC, Cupp EW. Clinical parasitology, 9th edn. Philadelphia, PA: Lea & Febiger, 1984: 320-329
    PubMed
  • 3 Hombu A, Yoshida A, Kikuchi T, Nagayasu E, Kuroki M, Maruyama H. Treatment of larva migrans syndrome with long-term administration of albendazole. J Microbiol Immunol Infect 2019; 52 (01) 100-105
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 4 Lim JH. Toxocariasis of the liver: visceral larva migrans. Abdom Imaging 2008; 33 (02) 151-156
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 5 Laroia ST, Rastogi A, Sarin SK. Case series of visceral larva migrans in the liver: CT and MRI findings. IJCRI 2012; 3: 7-12
    CrossrefSearch in Google Scholar
  • 6 Bhatia V, Sarin SK. Hepatic visceral larva migrans: evolution of the lesion, diagnosis, and role of high-dose albendazole therapy. Am J Gastroenterol 1994; 89 (04) 624-627
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar