Korean J Intern Med.
2017 May;32(3):523-529. 10.3904/kjim.2014.270.
Evaluation of the prevalence and clinical impact of toxocariasis in patients with eosinophilia of unknown origin
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Natural Medical Sciences, Chosun University College of Health Science, Gwangju, Korea.
- 2Department of Internal Medicine, Chosun University Hospital, Gwangju, Korea. sgpark@chosun.ac.kr
- 3Department of Medicine, Chosun University Graduate School of Medicine, Gwangju, Korea.
- KMID: 2379483
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.3904/kjim.2014.270
Abstract
- BACKGROUND/AIMS
Eosinophilia has numerous diverse causes, and in many patients, it is not possible to establish the cause of eosinophilia. Recently, toxocariasis was introduced as one cause of eosinophilia. The aims of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of toxocariasis and the clinical impact of albendazole treatment for toxocariasis in patients suspected of eosinophilia of unknown origin.
METHODS
We performed a retrospective chart review. After evaluation of cause of eosinophilia, the patients suspected of eosinophilia of unknown origin performed immunoglobulin G antibody specific assay for the Toxocara canis larval antigen by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
RESULTS
This study evaluated 113 patients, 69 patients (61%) were suspected of eosinophilia of unknown origin. Among these 69 patients, the frequency of T. canis infection was very high (45 patients, 65.2%), and albendazole treatment for 45 eosinophilia with toxocariasis was highly effective for a cure of eosinophilia than no albendazole group regardless of steroid (82.3%, p = 0.007). Furthermore, among the nonsteroid treated small group (19 patients), albendazole treatment for eosinophilia were more effective than no albendazole group, too (83.3% vs. 28.6 %, p = 0.045).
CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of toxocariasis was high among patients suspected of eosinophilia of unknown origin; therefore, evaluation for T. canis infection is recommended for patients with eosinophilia of unknown origin. Furthermore, for patients suspected of eosinophilia of unknown origin who have positive results for T. canis, albendazole treatment may be considered a valuable treatment option.
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