Case report: Loiasis with peripheral nerve involvement and spleen lesions.

Abstract

Loiasis, which is caused by the filarial nematode Loa loa, affects millions of persons living in the rainforest areas and savannah regions of central Africa. Typical manifestations are calabar swellings and the eyeworm. We report a case of loiasis with unusual clinical complications: a peripheral neuropathy and focal hypo-echogenic lesions of the spleen, which disappeared after treatment with albendazole and ivermectin. The literature reports that L. loa infection can be associated with various manifestations, some of them being serious. More information is needed to better characterize the protean manifestations of the disease in loiasis-endemic areas to evaluate the true incidence of loiasis.

• Authors: Federico Gobbi, Michel Boussinesq, Marta Mascarello, Andrea Angheben, Maria Gobbo, Andrea Rossanese, Manuel Corachán, Zeno Bisoffi
• Journal: The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene (Am J Trop Med Hyg) Vol. 84 Issue 5 Pg. 733-7 (May 2011) ISSN: 1476-1645 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 21540382 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Topics

• Adult
• Female
• Humans
• Loiasis (pathology)
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Peripheral Nervous System (pathology)
• Spleen (pathology)