Paragonimiasis in the Abdominal Cavity and Subcutaneous Tissue: Report of 3 cases

Abstract

Paragonimiasis is a parasitic disease caused by the lung fuke, Paragonimus spp. Lung fukes may be found in various organs, such as the brain, peritoneum, subcutaneous tissues, and retroperitoneum, other than the lungs. Abdomi- nal paragonimiasis raises a considerable diagnostic challenge to clinicians, because it is uncommon and may be confused with other abdominopelvic infammatory diseases, particularly peritoneal tuberculosis, and peritoneal carcinomatosis. Also, subcutaneous paragonimiasis does not easily bring up clinical suspicion, due to its rarity. We herein report 2 cases of ab- dominal paragonimiasis and 1 case of subcutaneous paragonimiasis in Korea. © 2012, Korean Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine.