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Clinical Pattern of Pediatric Hydatid Disease
Yasir Ahmad Lone1, Santosh Singh1, Shikha Tyagi2
1Department of Pediatric Surgery, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India.
Insights
Pediatric hydatid disease (PHD) presents uniquely in children, with lung involvement more frequent than liver. Extrahepatic, extrapulmonary PHD is also more common in this age group than previously recognized.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Parasitology
- Clinical Medicine
Background:
- Hydatid disease is rare in children, with limited literature on its clinical presentation.
- Understanding pediatric hydatid disease (PHD) is crucial due to potential differences from adult patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the distinct clinical characteristics of pediatric hydatid disease (PHD).
- To compare the organ distribution and presentation of hydatid disease in children versus adults.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective data collection from pediatric patients (<18 years) diagnosed with hydatid disease.
- Involved a tertiary care institute over a two-year period (July 2021 - June 2023).
- Simple statistical analysis including means and percentages.
Main Results:
- Pulmonary hydatid disease occurred in 40% of pediatric cases, exceeding hepatic involvement (20%).
- 40% of cases presented as primary extrahepatic extrapulmonary hydatid disease (pancreas, rectouterine pouch, intracranial).
- The study included 10 pediatric patients aged 2-17 years.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric hydatid disease (PHD) exhibits a different clinical pattern compared to adults.
- Pulmonary echinococcosis is more prevalent than hepatic involvement in children.
- Extrahepatic extrapulmonary PHD is more common in children than previously documented, necessitating consideration in differential diagnoses of pediatric cystic lesions.
Context:
Literature regarding hydatid disease in children is sparse.
Aims:
To highlight the peculiarities in the clinical pattern of pediatric hydatid disease (PHD).
Settings And Design/Materials And Methods:
Data were collected retrospectively from all children aged <18 years who presented to our tertiary care institute from July 2021 to June 2023 with hydatid disease involving any organ.
Statistical Analysis Used:
Simple statistical analysis involving sums, means, averages, and percentages.
Results:
Four of the 10 cases (40%) involved the lung, while only 2 (20%) involved the liver. There were five females and four males with an age range of 2-17 years. Four of the cases had primary extrahepatic extrapulmonary hydatid disease (40%), two involving the pancreas, one in the rectouterine pouch, and one intracranial.
Conclusions:
The clinical pattern of PHD is different from that of adults. Pulmonary echinococcosis is more common than hepatic involvement. Primary extrahepatic extrapulmonary hydatid disease is also more common in children than previously thought. A cystic lesion anywhere in a child warrants a differential of hydatid disease.
