Broncho-Pulmonary Amoebiasis

¹ Lecturer in Diseases of the Chest, Cairo University.
² Lecturer in Medicine, Cairo University.

A detailed analysis is given of a series of 28 cases with bronchopulmonary manifestations of amoebiasis.

The series includes nine cases of pneumonitis, nine lung abscess, two bronchitis, four pleurisy with serous effusion and three empyema.

Twenty two were secondary to spread from associated amoebic hepatitis or amoebic liver abscess and six were not accompanied by clinical evidence of disease in the liver and hence considered as examples of primary pulmonary amoebiasis.

The commonest clinical manifestation of bronchopulmonary amoebiasis was pneumonitis or lung abscess of the lower zone of the right lung; hoemoptysis and localised chest pain were the most frequent presenting symptoms.

Diagnosis was based on evidences obtained from history, right basal localisation of the lung lesion, character of sputum and associated liver condition and it was assured by the dramatic response to emetine hydrochloride.

Working in an endemic locality, the physician should be amoebiasis conscious, when dealing with any right basal pneumonic lesion particularly if it is of a suppurative nature.