Early View Article: Online published version of an accepted article before publication in the final form. Journal Name: Journal of Case Reports and Images in Medicine Type of Article: Clinical Images Title: Calcified Guinea Worms in Anterior Chest Wall: An Incidental Finding Authors: Rajendra Prasad Takhar, Motilal Bunkar, Savita Arya, Sheema Maqsood doi: To be assigned Early view version published: October 14, 2015 How to cite the article: Takhar R P, Bunkar M, Arya S, Maqsood S. Calcified Guinea Worms in Anterior Chest Wall: An Incidental Finding. Journal of Case Reports and Images in Medicine. Forthcoming 2015. Disclaimer: This manuscript has been accepted for publication. This is a pdf file of the Early View Article. The Early View Article is an online published version of an accepted article before publication in the final form. The proof of this manuscript will be sent to the authors for corrections after which this manuscript will undergo content check, copyediting/proofreading and content formatting to conform to journal s requirements. Please note that during the above publication processes errors in content or presentation may be discovered which will be rectified during manuscript processing. These errors may affect the contents of this manuscript and final published version of this manuscript may be extensively different in content and layout than this Early View Article. Page 1 of 7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 TYPE OF ARTICLE: Clinical Images TITLE: Calcified Guinea Worms in Anterior Chest Wall: An Incidental Finding AUTHORS: Rajendra Prasad Takhar 1, Motilal Bunkar 2, Savita Arya 3, Sheema Maqsood 4, AFFILIATIONS: 1 Assistant Professor, Dept of Respiratory Medicine, Govt Medical College, Kota (Raj.)drrajtakhar@gmail.com 2 Senior Resident, Dept of Respiratory Medicine, Govt Medical College, Kota (Raj.) drmotilalbunkar@gmail.com 3 PG Resident, Govt Medical College, Kota (Raj.) savita2009arya@gmail.com 3 PG Resident, Department of Pulmonary Medicine Peoples Medical College, Bhopal (MP) drsheemamaqsood@gmail.com CORRESPONDING AUTHOR DETAILS Rajendra Prasad Takhar Type First Quarter No.4, Medical College Campus, Rangbari Road, Kota (Rajasthan) India 324010 Contact number: +919784006021 Email: drrajtakhar@gmail.com Short Running Title: Calcified Guinea Worms Guarantor of Submission: The corresponding author is the guarantor of submission. 31 Page 2 of 7
32 Keywords: Guinea worm, calcified, dracunculiasis. 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 Page 3 of 7
64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 TITLE:Calcified Guinea Worms in Anterior Chest Wall: An Incidental Finding CASE REPORT A sixty year old female from rural area came to pulmonary OPD with a history of cough and breathlessness since five months. She denied for fever, chest pain and hemoptysis. Her routine blood investigations were normal except total eosinophil count of850/mm 3. Her chest x-ray showed increased broncho-vascular marking with curvilinear, coiled and serpentine calcification in the left upper zone suspecting calcified guinea worms (Figure 1). On examination a hard, crackling feeling present over left supra and infra clavicular region. Overlying skin was normal in color and texture. Past history suggestive of guinea worm infection with multiple times thread like worms had been taken out from her lower limbs. She was consuming unsafe drinking water from an open pond. Pulmonary function test revealed mild obstructive pattern. She advised for excisional biopsy of calcified guinea worm but didn t give consent, later managed with bronchodilator and symptomatic treatment. DISCUSSION The dracunculosis has been eradicated from many countries of the world. The last reported case from India was in July 1996 and on completion of three years of zero incidences, declared free from Guinea worm disease[1].most probably, our case got infestation before the eradication. Guinea worm disease (Dracunculiasis) is a parasitic infestation caused by a tissue nematode, Dracunculus medinensis (also known as serpent worm, dragon worm, Medina worm) transmitted to humans through ingestion of contaminated water from ponds and shallow, open wells which contain immature forms of the parasite in the gut of tiny crustaceans (copepods- Cyclops) [2]. In the due course, these parasites are released following digestion of the Cyclopes by gastric juice in the stomach [3].The worm penetrates the gut mucosa and migrates into subcutaneous tissues. Some worm (usually gravid female) emerges through a skin lesion while few of them lodged in subcutaneous tissue, die, get encapsulated and calcified. The mature female worm may cause a skin blister, a sterile abscess, an acute aseptic arthritis or an asymptomatic calcification [4]. A painful blister forms at site of emergence which Page 4 of 7
96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 rupture into contact with water to continue the life cycle. An allergic reaction occurs just prior to rupture in 30-80% of patients manifesting as rash, fever, urticaria and bronchial asthma.the radiological differential diagnosis includes hydatid disease, filarial infestation, cysticercosis and porocephalosis[4].there is no effective vaccine or medicine is available till date to treat or prevent guinea worm disease, although various benzimidazoles/nitroimidazole may have an anti-inflammatory action, aiding elimination. Since antiquity, winding worms out on a stick, a few centimetres a day, has been practiced and is still useful, along with antibiotic dressing to prevent secondary bacterial infection. The calcified worms represent dead parasite and asymptomatic in the majority of cases requiring no treatment like in our case [2]. CONCLUSION Calcified guinea wormsin chest wallare important for chest physicians because few patients may present with this type of X-ray picture and respiratory pathology is not always present in such cases. AUTHOR S CONTRIBUTIONS Rajendra Prasad Takhar Group1 - Conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis and interpretation of data Group 2 - Drafting the article, Critical revision of the article Motilal Bunkar Group1 - Conception and design, Analysis and interpretation of data Group 2 - Drafting the article Savita Arya Group1 - Acquisition of data, Analysis and interpretation of data Group 2 - Critical revision of the article Page 5 of 7
128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 Sheema Maqsood Group1 - Conception and design, Analysis and interpretation of data Group 2 - Critical revision of the article ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All the staff members who were involved in the care of the patient. REFERENCES 1. Mathur S, Gahlot RS. Calcified Guinea Worms in Breast. JAPI march 2006; vol. 54:201 2. Hakim FA, Khan NN. Dracunculiasis; an incidental diagnosis in a Saudi female. Saudi med J 2007; vol.28 (6):1438-40. 3. Hopkins DR, Ruiz-tiben E, Ruebush TK, Diallo N, Agle A, and Withers jr PC. Dracunculiasis Eradication: Delayed, Not Denied. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 62(2), 2000,163 8. 4. Stalling CB. Dracunculiasis presenting as sterile abscess. AJR June 1982;138:1159-61. FIGURE LEGENDS Figure 1: Chest skiagram zoomed at left upper zone showing multiple curvilinear, coiled and serpentine densely calcified shadows just above the clavicle (arrow)suggestive of calcified guinea worms. 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 Page 6 of 7
160 FIGURE 161 162 163 164 165 166 Figure 1: Chest skiagram zoomed at left upper zone showing multiple curvilinear, coiled and serpentine densely calcified shadows just above the clavicle (arrow)suggestive of calcified guinea worms. Page 7 of 7