In Korea, many people enjoy eating raw or underkooked freshwater crayfish and crabs which unfortunately may cause
paragonimiasis. Here, we describe a case of pulmonary and abdominal
paragonimiasis in a 9-year-old girl, who presented with a 1-month history of
abdominal pain, especially in the right flank and the right inguinal area, with
anorexia. A chest radiograph revealed
pleural effusion in both lungs, and her abdominal sonography indicated an inflammatory lesion in the right psoas muscle. Peripheral blood analysis of the patient showed
hypereosinophilia (66.0%) and an elevated total serum
IgE level (>2,500 IU/ml). The
pleural effusion tested by ELISA were also positive for
antibodies against
paragonimiasis. Her dietary history stated that she had ingested raw freshwater crab, 4 months previously. The diagnosis was pulmonary
paragonimiasis accompanied by abdominal muscle involvement. She was improved after 5 cycles of
praziquantel treatment and 2 times of
pleural effusion drainage. In conclusion, herein, we report a case of pulmonary and abdominal
paragonimiasis in a girl who presented with
abdominal pain and tenderness in the inguinal area.