[Overview of therapeutic options for cystic echinococcosis]

Surgical excision of echinococcal cyst has long been considered the only effective treatment for echinococcosis. However, the remarkable advances in imaging techniques, particularly ultrasound, made during the past 25 years have greatly facilitated diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Today, chemotherapy and percutaneous treatments have become widely available. A major step forward in management of the disease came in 2001, when the WHO International Working Group on Echinococcosis (WHO-IWGE) came to a consensus by developing a standardized classification of ultrasound images in cystic echinococcosis. Thus, the most appropriate treatment for patients affected by this serious and sometimes life-threatening disease may now be chosen. An overview of the three main therapeutic options for abdominal- and particularly hepatic-cystic echinococcosis is presented, with focus on the indications and contraindications of each one. Data from long-term follow-up studies are also discussed, with emphasis on the resulting stage-specific criteria for treatment.