Pulmonary echinococcosis with chest wall involvement in a patient with no apparent risk factors

Pulmonary hydatid disease is rare in the U.K., and chest wall involvement has to our knowledge not previously been described in this country. We report the case of a 72-year-old man who was found to have a left upper lobe opacity on his chest radiograph. He declined further investigation at the time, but 2 years later developed a palpable mass over his left lateral chest wall. Fine-needle aspiration-biopsy of this mass revealed the diagnosis of pulmonary hydatid disease. Despite thorough questioning, no risk factor could be identified for the development of the disease. Hydatid disease should be remembered as a rare cause of mass lesions identified on chest radiographs even in non-endemic regions. Spread to the chest wall may mimic malignancy.