Concomitant Liver Disease: Echinococcosis and Aspergillosis

Abstract

Aspergillosis covers a wide range of diseases caused by the genus Aspergillus fungi. Aspergillus saprophytic mold is widespread in the environment; its spores are easily inhaled. However, despite the fact that most people inhale aspergillus spores daily, aspergillosis develops mainly in immunocompromised individuals (due to illness or during immunosuppressive therapy).the lungs are affected most often, being the portal for the fungus penetration, but the naso-orbital sinus is also involved in the process. There are few reports on extrapulmonary aspergillosis. Even rarer in the literature are publications about the co-infection of a saprophytic fungus and a hydatid cyst. Only single clinical observations of the coexistence of aspergillosis and echinococcosis in the lungs have been described. No literature data are available on the coexistence of these two pathogens in the liver. The authors present a clinical case of a 54-year-old woman with two echinococcal cysts in the liver and Aspergillus revealed in their structure. The co-infection of liver echinococcosis and aspergillosis is extremely rare. Preoperative verification of the presence of local aspergillosis in this case is practically impossible. However, early diagnosis and treatment are vital, preventing possible complications from becoming infected with these two pathogens. Treatment is based on an early morphological diagnosis and the detection of both pathogens.