engleski

Epididymal dirofilariasis – case report

Dirofilariasis is a helminth infection caused by parasites of the phylum Nematoda, family Onchocercidea, genus Dirofilaria. Aedes, Anopheles, Culex or Mansonia mosquitoes are vectors for this parasite. The parts of the genital tract which are most commonly affected are the testical layers, epididymis and spermatic cord. This is a case of a 21 year old patient presenting with a helminthiasis caused by Dirofilaria repens, who was admitted to our hospital with a swelling nodule below his right testicle. During surgery performed at the Insitute of Urology, Clinical Hospital Center Osijek, a solid formation 1 cm in diameter was found in cauda epididymis, so an ex tempore biopsy was conducted and the specimen was histopathologicaly analysed. Serological tests have also been performed and the preliminary test results confirmed the diagnosis of a Dirofilaria repens infection. Dirofilariasis is very rare in our geographical area. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first case of scrotal dirofilariasis in the northeastern part of Croatia. The clinical importance of this case lies in the fact that the clinical presentation of this helminthiasis may be very similar to testical tumors, so misdiagnosis could be possible. However, since the treatment for dirofilariasis is surgical excision, the disease can be diagnosed after histopathological analysis of the specimen, where the parasite can be found. Finally, serological tests have to be performed to identify the parasite species.

dirofilariasis ; epididymis ; urologic surgical procedure

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