[A case of toxocariasis with eosinophil-rich pleural effusion]

A 68-yr-old man presented with fever, cough, and appetite loss. On admission, clinical examination revealed pleural effusion (with eosinophils accounting for 25% of the cellular component), eosinophilia, and mildly elevated liver enzymes. A diagnosis of toxocariasis was reached on the basis of a positive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for Toxocara canis, and the efficacy of steroid and tiabendazole. Typical thoracic involvement of toxocariasis causes cough, wheezing, transient infiltration shadows on the radiographs, and other symptoms of Löffler's syndrome. The infiltration shadows reflect the migration of the larvae through the lung, which involves their breaking through the alveolar walls. We report a rare case of toxocariasis with thoracic and pleural involvement without transient pulmonary infiltrates.