Echinococcosis in children. Clinic, diagnosis, treatment

Background. Echinococcosis affects people of all ages. People from 20 to 50 years old are most vulnerable to this disease. Echinococcosis is most common in livestock regions which demonstrate poor sanitation and low level of economic development. Due to the growth of tourism, recent years have witnessed rising echinococcosis morbidity, even in the regions which have never been endemic for this helminthiasis. Currently, echinococcosis has a global distribution.

Objective. Based on the information obtained during the retrospective analysis, to conduct a study of the epidemiological situation of echinococcosis among children in the Astrakhan region.

Materials and methods. From 2008 to 2023, 141 cases of echinococcosis among humans were registered in the Astrakhan region, including 22 cases (15.6%) in children under 17 years of age.

Results. Taking into account the age group of children, cases of echinococcosis were most often reported in such age periods as 5, 6, 7, 10, 12-16 years. Thus, the greatest number of cases was observed in children of all ages 10 (14,2%), 13 (8,8%), 14 (12,9%), 15 (17,8%) and 16 years old (28.1%). Among all infected children, the largest proportion of cases occurred in people aged 7-17 years – 91.2%, while more than half of all infected (67.8%) were school-age children, and 23.2% were secondary school students. The main complaints of children included heaviness and pain in the right hypochondrium – 41.3%, spasms in the area of the parasite – 32.2%. Some patients complained of apathy and irritability – 4.7% each. The duration of clinical symptoms ranged from several days to one year, with the largest number of cases being a month and several days (37.1% and 26.2%). In the process of verifying the diagnosis, a different number of methods were used, both laboratory and instrumental. The diagnosis was carried out using research methods that included the predominance of ELISA, as well as ultrasound and computed tomography of the abdominal organs.

Conclusion. In the Astrakhan region, echinococcosis is most often reported in school-age children, while there is an increase in the number of cases of this disease. The parasite is mainly localized in the liver and lungs.

1. Darzhigitova A. K., Shapekova N. L. Monitoring of the epidemiological situation of echinococcosis in the West Kazakhstan region. Vestnik SKU im. M. Kozybaeva. 2021; 1 (50): 79-83. (In Russ.)

2. Zhuravleva M. O., Vozgorkova E. O. Cystic echinococcosis is a dangerous human disease. Materials of the international student scientific conference "Student Scientific Forum". Moscow, 2021. Р. 11-13. (In Russ.)

3. Razumovsky A. Yu., Smirnov A. N., Kholostova V. V. Echinococcosis of the liver in children. Annals of surgical hepatology. 2021; 26-4: 24-31. (In Russ.)

4. Styazhkina S. N., Kiryanov N. A., Zaitsev D. V., Tselousov A. A., Bazhina Yu. S., Gainetdinova I. I. Liver echinococcosis: diagnostic and treatment methods (clinical case). estnik Kyrgyzskoi gosudarstvennoi meditsinskoi akademii imeni I. K. Akhunbaeva. 2023; 4: 78-83. (In Russ.)

5. Aliev M. Zh., Kalybekov T. A., Niyazbekov K. I. The prevalence of echinococcosis and the causes of its growth (literature review). Nauka, novye tekhnologii i innovatsii Kyrgyzstana. 2021; 2: 32-37. (In Russ.)

6. Arisov M. V., Bolatchiev K. Kh., Shemyakova S. A., Bolatchieva E. K., Shemyakov I. D. The epidemiological situation of echinococcosis in the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia. Vestnik Kyrgyzskoi gosudarstvennoi meditsinskoi akademii imeni I. K. Akhunbaeva. 2023; 4: 188-195. (In Russ.)

7. Razumovsky A. Yu., Smirnov A. N., Kholostova V. V. Echinococcosis of the liver in children. Annaly khirurgicheskoj gepatologii. 2021; 26-4: 24-31. (In Russ.)

8. Turpanova M. M. Multiple echinococcosis of the liver in a child. A clinical case. Collection: Scientific session of the Russian State Medical University named after Academician E.A. Wagner. materials of a scientific and practical conference with international participation of students, residents, postgraduates, and young scientists (under 35 years of age). Perm, 2024. Р. 233-234. (In Russ.)

9. Kostrykina T. V., Dmitrieva G. M., Sorokina O. V., Tikhonova E. P., Maslennikova N. A. The epidemiological situation of echinococcosis in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the organization of dispensary monitoring of patients with echinococcosis. Infektsiya i immunitet. 2017; S. 867. (In Russ.)

10. Sverdlova A. V., Ryazanova T. V., Starostina O. Yu., Rogacheva A. K. Echinococcosis in the population of the Omsk region and molecular monitoring of echinococcosis. Laboratory diagnostics. Vostochnaya Evropa. 2024; 13-S1: 366-369. (In Russ.)

11. Utenkova E. O., Baramzina S. V., Oparina L. V. Epidemiology of echinococcosis in the Northern region of Russia. Epidemiologiya i infektsionnye bolezni. Aktualnye voprosy. 2018; 1: 27-32. (In Russ.)

12. Sarsenbayeva G. I., Balabekuly Zh. B., Ibragimov U. I. Echinococcosis of the heart in children. Pediatriya i detskaya khirurgiya. 2018; 4 (94): 68-72. (In Russ.)

13. Pakusin V. M. Causes of echinococcosis, its diagnosis and treatment. Advanced development of modern science: experience, problems, forecasts: collection of articles of the VIII International Scientific and Practical Conference. Petrozavodsk, 2022. Р. 47-51. (In Russ.)