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A case of adult hepatic toxocariasis

Abstract

Background A 56-year-old female presented to the emergency room with a 2-week history of fevers, chills and right upper quadrant pain. She had no sick contacts, had not traveled recently and denied high-risk sexual behavior. The patient had adopted a stray cat 1 month before presentation.

Investigations Physical examination; laboratory tests (including complete blood count with differential, complete metabolic panel including liver enzymes, and serum Toxocara serology); chest and abdominal CT scans; and percutaneous liver biopsy.

Diagnosis Toxocariasis (visceral larva migrans).

Management Supportive care and antihelmintic agents.

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Figure 1: An abdominal CT scan of the case patient showing diffuse, heterogeneous low-density infiltrative liver lesions.
Figure 2: Histology of the case patient's liver biopsy sample.

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Acknowledgements

Charles P Vega, University of California, Irvine, CA, is the author of and is solely responsible for the content of the learning objectives, questions and answers of the Medscape-accredited continuing medical education activity associated with this article.

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Correspondence to Jared Hossack.

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Hossack, J., Ricketts, P., Te, H. et al. A case of adult hepatic toxocariasis. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 5, 344–348 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpgasthep1140

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