Infectious Disease Book

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Visceral Larva MigransAka: Toxocariasis

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  1. See Also
    1. Ocular Larva Migrans
  2. Epidemiology
    1. Incidence: 10,000 cases per year in United States
  3. Causes: Roundworms (Nematodes)
    1. Toxocara canis (dogs)
    2. Toxocara cati (cats)
  4. Transmission
    1. Spread via dog or cat feces contaminating soil
    2. Young children (age <3 years) eating contaminated soil
      1. Common in playgrounds and sandboxes
    3. Adults ingesting raw liver
  5. Pathophysiology
    1. Infectious eggs ingested and hatch in intestine
    2. Larvae trapped in liver or circulate
  6. Symptoms
    1. Nausea
    2. Fever
    3. Myalgia
    4. Hepatomegaly
    5. Edema
    6. Urticaria
  7. Complications
    1. Epilepsy may develop in toddlers
    2. Ocular Larva Migrans (Endophthalmitis)
  8. Differential Diagnosis
    1. Hepatitis
    2. Encephalitis
    3. Viral myalgia
    4. Epilepsy
    5. Pneumonia
    6. Trichinosis
    7. Eosinophilic Leukemia
    8. Periarteritis nodosa
  9. Labs
    1. Complete Blood Count
      1. Leukocytosis with >20% Eosinophilia
    2. Larval antigen ELISA Test
  10. Course
    1. Self limited
    2. Generally benign
  11. Management
    1. Indications
      1. Severe cardiac or pulmonary disease
      2. Neurologic involvement
    2. Preparations
      1. Mebendazole (Vermox)
        1. Dose: 100-200 bid for 5 days
      2. Diethylcarbamazine (Hetrazan)
        1. Dose: 6 mg/kg/day divided tid for 7-10 days
  12. Prevention
    1. Careful child supervision
      1. Prevent soil ingestion
      2. Encourage hand washing
    2. Regular worming of cats and dogs
    3. Clean up after pets
    4. Cover sandbox between use
    5. Cook liver and other organ meats well before eating

Toxocariasis (C0040553)

Definition (MSH)Infection by round worms of the genus TOXOCARA, usually found in wild and domesticated cats and dogs and foxes, except for the larvae, which may produce visceral and ocular larva migrans in man.
ConceptsDisease or Syndrome (T047)
ICD9128.0, 128.0
MSHD014120
EnglishInfection by Toxascaris, Infection due to Toxascaris, Infection due to toxocara, Toxascariosis, Toxocara infection, Toxocariases, Toxocariasis, Toxocarosis
Spanishinfeccion por Toxascaris, infeccion por Toxocara, toxascariosis, toxocariasis
Parent ConceptsOther helminthiases (C0494126), Helminthiasis, Animal (C0018891), Ascaridida Infections (C0162626), Disease due to superfamily Ascaridoidea (C0277142), Ambiguous concept (C1274012), Duplicate concept (C1274013)
SourcesDXP, ICD9CM, MSH, MTHICD9, NDFRT, SCTSPA, SNOMEDCT
Derived from the NIH UMLS (Unified Medical Language System)



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