Not your typical strongyloides infection: a literature review and case study

Elizabeth B Foreman1, Philip J Abraham, Jeffrey L Garland

  • 1Division of Community Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA.

Southern Medical Journal
|August 26, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Strongyloides hyperinfection syndrome, a severe condition with high mortality, can present with multiple pathogens. This case highlights its simultaneous occurrence with Pneumocystis pneumonia.

Area of Science:

  • Infectious Diseases
  • Parasitology
  • Critical Care Medicine

Background:

  • Strongyloidiasis is a parasitic infection caused by Strongyloides stercoralis.
  • Strongyloides hyperinfection syndrome (SHS) is a life-threatening complication characterized by massive autoinfection.
  • SHS predominantly affects immunocompromised individuals and has a mortality rate exceeding 85%.

Observation:

  • A 69-year-old Venezuelan man presented with SHS.
  • The patient exhibited a novel coinfection: SHS and Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PJP).
  • Multiple pathogens were recovered, suggesting a piggyback phenomenon facilitating bacterial translocation.

Findings:

  • This is the first reported case of simultaneous SHS and PJP.
  • The coinfection likely contributed to the patient's respiratory failure.
  • The piggyback phenomenon may explain the presence of enteric pathogens in the bloodstream.

Implications:

  • Early consideration of SHS is crucial in diagnosing respiratory failure in endemic populations, especially with multiple pathogen recovery.
  • This case expands the clinical spectrum of SHS presentations.
  • Co-infections, such as PJP, may complicate the management and prognosis of SHS.

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