Cerebral paragonimiasis that manifested as intracranial hemorrhage

The purpose of this study was to review 14 rare cases of cerebral paragonimiasis that first manifested as intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), and to investigate the characteristics of clinical manifestation, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease.

The authors have encountered 14 cases of cerebral paragonimiasis in patients between the ages of 6 and 16 years (mean age 11.5 years) who presented with sudden headache, nausea, and vomiting. Three of them were affected with varying degrees of limb hemiplegia, and in 1 this was combined with high fever; the blood eosinophil count and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed positive results too. The ICHs were observed with cranial CT and MR imaging, and lung lesions were also detected in 5 cases on chest CT scans. Ten of the diagnosed cases were treated with oral praziquantel. Three of these patients were given carbamazepine from the beginning of parasiticidal treatment to prevent seizures; 4 of the remaining 7 patients experienced epileptic seizures during the treatment process. Four patients needed surgery to remove the lesions, and these individuals received praziquantel treatment right after the surgery.

Pathological examinations demonstrated eosinophilic granuloma in these patients. There was no disease recurrence or epilepsy in 11-40 months of follow-up; however, mild hemiplegia could still be observed in 2 cases after 12 months and 17 months of follow-up.

The possibility of cerebral paragonimiasis should be considered when ICH is detected in young patients who are either from an endemic area or have recently visited such an area; the relatively small amount of hemorrhage in cerebral paragonimiasis is often represented as small lesions surrounded by disproportionately larger edema on the imaging study. Preventive antiepileptic drugs should be used along with the administration of parasiticide.