Patients with chronic Schistosoma mansoni infection may feature a range of pulmonary symptoms and radiological findings. Eggs, and rarely adult worms, may passively enter the pulmonary circulation, usually via the portal system, where they may cause pulmonary inflammation, fibrosis, hypertension and cor pulmonale. A 25-year-old patient who lived in a schistosomiasis endemic area with a pulmonary mass suggestive of malignancy underwent exploratory thoracotomy. The mass was adherent, with no resection possibility. The lung-biopsy specimen evaluation showed several granulomas with Schistosoma mansoni eggs and hyperplasic connective tissue with no sign of malignancy. The patient had respiratory failure and hypotension immediately post-surgery. Specific treatment (praziquantel) and prednisone were given. The patient had pneumonia and septic shock. The patient was given antibiotics, vasopressors, mechanical ventilation and hemodialysis with no improvement, and subsequently died 28 days after the surgery.
Schistosomiasis; Schistosoma mansoni; Neoplasias; Lung diseases, parasitic; Case reports
