Dirofilaria tenuis Causing Neuritis

Autor: Veronica Tucci, Margarita R. Cabrera-Cancio, Albert L. Vincent, John N. Greene
Rok vydání: 2013
Předmět:
Zdroj: Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice. 21:325-329
ISSN: 1056-9103
DOI: 10.1097/ipc.0b013e318279f192
Popis: Dirofilaria tenuis is a mosquito-transmitted filaria of raccoons in the American Southeast. Here, we report the case of subcutaneous D tenuis in a 72-year-old south Florida resident. A 1-cm nodule on the left forearm progressed to an extensive inflammation and radial neuritis with stiffness and weakness of the thumb, index, and middle fingers. His serum was positive for antifilarial IgG1. The determination was based on the history of exposure in Florida and on the characteristics of the degenerating body wall. Removal led promptly to resolution. Subcutaneous D tenuis is usually benign and may simulate lipomas or neoplasms almost anywhere on the body. It should be considered in middle-aged or older patients of either sex who present with a small nodule enveloping a slender coiled roundworm (females, 260Y360 Km 8Y13 cm). Florida has accounted for approximately 3 quarters of reported cases.
Databáze: OpenAIRE