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CASE REPORT
Fascioliasis—a rare cause of hepatic nodules
  1. Helena Temido1,
  2. Manuel Oliveira-Santos2,
  3. Francisco Parente1,
  4. Lèlita Santos1
  1. 1Department of Internal Medicine, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
  2. 2Department of Cardiology, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
  1. Correspondence to Dr Helena Temido, helenatemido{at}gmail.com

Summary

Fascioliasis is a zoonotic disease that can sometimes affect humans. It presents with non-specific signs and symptoms which makes it difficult to establish an early definitive diagnosis. This can be particularly true in non-endemic countries where a high degree of suspicion is needed to make the diagnosis. Another confounding factor is that many of the initial complains and findings are very similar to those of malignancy. We report a case of an otherwise healthy 47 year-old male presenting with abdominal pain, night-time sweating, anorexia, weight loss and loose stools that had several hepatic nodules visible in the abdominal CT scan. Although the initial hypothesis was hepatic malignancy or liver metastasis of unknown primary neoplasm, the workup performed led us to the correct diagnosis. He was treated successfully for hepatic fascioliasis, with a full recovery.

  • Infection (gastroenterology)
  • Liver disease
  • Foodborne infections
  • Medical education
  • Public health

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Footnotes

  • Contributors Dr HT was part of the medical team responsible for diagnosing and treating the patient, wrote and reviewed the manuscript. Dr MO-S was part of the medical team responsible for diagnosing and treating the patient, wrote and reviewed the manuscript. Dr FP was head of the team responsible for diagnosing and treating the patient, reviewed the manuscript. Professor LèS participated in the diagnosis of the patient, reviewed the manuscript.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient consent Obtained.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.