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Case Reports
. 2016 Jan 2;13(1):e17991.
doi: 10.5812/iranjradiol.17991. eCollection 2016 Jan.

Breast Filariasis Diagnosed by Real Time Sonographic Imaging: A Case Report

Poonam Sherwani  1 , Shweta Singhal  1 , Nidhi Kumar  1 , Mahender Kaur Narula  1 , Rama Anand  1 , Om Prakash Pathania  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Breast Filariasis Diagnosed by Real Time Sonographic Imaging: A Case Report

Poonam Sherwani et al. Iran J Radiol. .

Abstract

A 30-year-old woman presented with a palpable subcutaneous nodule in the areolar region of the left breast. Sonomammographic examination revealed 2 cystic lesions showing typical "filarial dance" as vigorous twirling movement of multiple curvilinear echoes with mixed red blue color Doppler signals that was non-rhythmic, nonpulsatile, and the characteristic pulse Doppler trace due to irregular worm movement. Real time sonographic demonstration of these typical features is pathognomonic for filariasis, especially in endemic areas and treatment should be initiated without delay on the basis of ultrasound.

Keywords: Eosinophilia; Filariasis; Ultrasound; Worms.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. A 30-year-old female with palpable subcutaneous nodular swelling in the areola from 2 months ago. Local examination shows a nodular swelling (line arrow) with adjacent cord like swelling (solid arrow) in the areolar region of the left breast.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Sonography of the left breast shows two cystic lesions, one in the subcutaneous plane (solid arrow) (A) and the other in the fatty breast parenchyma (line arrow) (B), both showing multiple curvilinear echoes with a dilated interconnecting tubular channel.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.. A, Color Doppler sonogram shows mixed color Doppler signals due to color motion artifact. B, Spectral trace shows irregular pattern of worm movement.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.. A, Follow-up ultrasound showed prominence of lymphatic channels with linear echoes (arrow), and loss of twirling movement (dead worms). B, the color motion artifact was not seen.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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