Strongyloides stercoralis hyperinfection syndrome and disseminated disease.

Abstract

Strongyloidiasis can involve many organs and, therefore, can have unspecific and unusual clinical manifestations, making the infection difficult to diagnose. Furthermore, lack of familiarity with this condition can have catastrophic consequences. Due to its unique life cycle, Strongyloides is capable of infecting a host until death of the host. Strongyloidiasis can be a severe disease, causing both hyperinfection syndrome and disseminated disease, particularly in transplantation patients. Thus, any patient who came from or traveled to an endemic area of the world may potentially be infected with this parasite, particularly if symptoms and blood and/or tissue eosinophilia are present. Clinicians should search for strongyloidiasis in any patient awaiting transplantation who has epidemiologic risk factors or clinical or laboratory signs of the condition.