Intrathoracic manifestations of amoebiasis

Thoracic symptoms were noted in 38 (86%) out of 44 patients with hepatic amoebiasis and dominated the clinical picture in 4 (9%), causing dangerous delay in initiating appropriate treatment. Thoracic amoebiasis characteristically presents as a febrile illness with cough, chest pain, and point tenderness in an intercostal space or the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. Haemoptysis, diarrhoea, and dysentery are uncommon, occurring in approximately equal proportions (9%). The most important factor in clinical recognition is awareness of the possibility of the lesion. Chest radiography, serological tests, and therapeutic trials give corroborative evidence. In endemic areas thoracic amoebiasis should always be considered in the evaluation of obscure, especially right-sided, respiratory symptoms.