[Hydatid cyst of the lung]

Abstract

Following a summary of the natural biological cycle of Taenia echinococcus granulosus, the hydatid vesicle is described with its walls and contents. The chapter on the geographical distribution and epidemiology of hydatidosis shows that the disease is ubiquitous, spares no continent and is particularly frequent in Mediterranean countries and Latin America. The natural course of the pulmonary hydatid cyst is presented in 6 successive radioclinical stages and illustrated by radiological images that are most characteristic of each of these stages. The diagnosis of the disease is studied, with emphasis on the usefulness of serological tests. Treatment, which nowadays is exclusively surgical, must be preceded by careful preoperative evaluation. The surgical techniques are well codified and relatively simple. Medical treatments with "larvacidal" drugs are under study, but their effectiveness does not seem to have been demonstrated. The author concludes by insisting on the need for implementing the well-known and simple preventive measures which can be effective on the sources of infestation, on the chain of parasite transmission and on the subjects at risk.