Non-ruptured hydatid cyst can lead to death by spread of cyst content into bloodstream: an autopsy case

Abstract

Hydatid disease is a parasitic infestation caused by a tapeworm of the genus Echinococcus, and it is common in Mediterranean regions. Cystic lesions cause symptoms via compressing adjacent organs or may be totally silent. Morbidity is usually secondary to free rupture of the echinococcal cyst with or without anaphylaxis, infection of the cyst or dysfunction of affected organs. The cyst of Echinococcus granulosus is commonly located in the liver and frequently causes no symptoms. Anaphylactic reactions as a result of cyst perforation generally occur during interventions such as needle aspiration or open surgery; however, the spillage of cyst fluid with intravascular spread resulting from trauma may also trigger anaphylaxis, and rare case reports of this kind are present in the literature. We report the case of a 17-year-old man who was admitted to the public hospital with a sudden onset of nausea, vomiting and fainting. After a short period of intervention in the emergency department he died. As the cause of his sudden death was unknown, a forensic autopsy was carried out by the Forensic Council of Turkey. The autopsy revealed a macroscopically non-ruptured hydatid cyst in the liver and laryngeal oedema. In histopathological examination, two scolices in the pulmonary artery and inflammatory infiltration mainly composed of mast cells in the larynx were detected. Sudden death in this case was attributed to anaphylactic shock caused by intravascular spread of the cyst contents. (c) 2005 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.