Need for lung resection in patients with intact or ruptured hydatid cysts

Lung hydatid cyst caused by Echinococcus granulosus is endemic in many areas of the world. We aimed to compare the outcome of surgical treatment in intact and ruptured (infected or noninfected) cysts.

We reviewed the medical records of 115 patients with lung hydatid disease who were surgically treated between 2001 and 2005 in a tertiary hospital in Lima, Peru. Patients were divided into 3 groups based on cyst characteristics: intact cysts (n = 41), ruptured noninfected cysts (n = 47) and ruptured infected cysts (n = 27). If a patient had more than one type of cyst, the most severe form of disease was recorded. Data related to symptoms, morbidity and mortality were recorded and compared. We also calculated direct patient costs.

Mean age of patients was 23.6 +/- 15.1 years old. Ruptured cysts were present in 64 % of patients and giant cysts (> 10 cm diameter) were present in 26 % of patients. Hemoptysis was present in 47.0 % of patients and was more frequent in patients with ruptured infected cysts. Lung resection was performed in 58 % of patients. The most common postoperative complication was infection of the operative wound (6.08 %). Perioperative mortality was zero. Patients with ruptured cysts had a longer hospitalization time and higher total cost (12.28 +/- 0.92 days, US$ 890.34 +/- 303.35) than patients with intact cysts (10.17 +/- 0.79 days, US$ 724.81 +/- 14.38).

Surgical treatment of lung hydatid disease is safe, with a good outcome and a low mortality rate. The lung resection rate was higher than most published series and reflects the relatively high proportion of patients with giant and ruptured infected cysts.