ABSTRACT
Parasitic infections, although common in tropical and subtropical regions, are prevalent
worldwide because of changing immigration patterns and in international travel. The
burden of worm infection is enormous and the intensity of infection is usually high
among the poor and in immunocompromised individuals. Pulmonary eosinophilia occurs
in almost all metazoan infections. In the Western world, the most common infections
are caused by Strongyloides , Ascaris , Toxocara , and Ancylostoma species. Most of the nematodes multiply within the human host and cause pulmonary
eosinophilia during larval migration through the lungs. Despite larval migration through
the lungs, there is usually no permanent lung damage. The result is an increased number
of eosinophils in the airways or lung parenchyma with or without peripheral eosinophilia.
Loffler's syndrome, visceral larva migrans, and tropical pulmonary eosinophilia are
the most common infections that cause pulmonary eosinophilia. The most serious parasitic
eosinophilic lung disease is tropical pulmonary eosinophilia, a disorder caused by
the filarial worms Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia malayi, in which cases have typically been reported to masquerade acute or refractory bronchial
asthma. Increasing awareness, newer diagnostic techniques, preventative measures,
and antiparasitic drugs are important in reducing the worldwide morbidity and mortality
from parasitic helminths and protozoa. This review focuses on common and some uncommon
causes of pulmonary parasitic eosinophilia and their manifestations, diagnosis, and
management.
KEYWORDS
Eosinophilia - pulmonary - infection - parasite
REFERENCES
Ascaris lumbricoides.
.
Pneumologie.
1995;
49
77-83
Intestinal nematodes. Parasitic lung diseases . In Mahmoud AAF Lung biology in health and disease. New York; Marcel Dekker 1997:
89-108 Strongyloides stercolaris infection.
Clin Infect Dis.
2001;
33
1040-1047
Ascaris summ which presented with eosinophilic pneumonia and multiple intrahepatic lesions with
severe eosinophil infiltration. Outbreak in a Japanese area other than Kyushu.
Intern Med.
2002;
41
574-579
Brugia malayi and implications for the pathogenesis of tropical pulmonary eosinophilia.
J Immunol.
1992;
149
3029-3034
Paragonimus
.
Adv Parasitol.
1999;
42
113-222
Paragonimus westermani
.
J Parasitol.
1976;
62
646-648
Paragonimus westermani patients.
Am J Trop Med Hyg.
1992;
47
104-107
Schistosomiasis . In: Warren KS, Mahmoud AAF Tropical and geographical medicine (2nd ed.) New York;
McGraw-Hill 1990: 470-471 Schistosomiasis mansoni
.
J Infect Dis.
1979;
139
659-666
Schistosomiasis mansoni (Cochrane Database Syst Rev). In: The Cochrane Library, vol. 3. Oxford; 2001 . multilocularis Protoscolex (EM 18).
Am J Trop Med Hyg.
1999;
60
188-192
Echinococcus granulosus
.
Trop Med Int Health.
1998;
3
462-466
rkc@stanford.edu
