Case Report: Angiostrongylus cantonensis Infection Presenting as Small Fiber Neuropathy - PubMed (original) (raw)

Case Reports

. 2022 Jul 5;107(2):367-369.

doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.22-0199. Print 2022 Aug 17.

Affiliations

• PMID: 35895403
• PMCID: PMC9393434
• DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.22-0199

Case Reports

Case Report: Angiostrongylus cantonensis Infection Presenting as Small Fiber Neuropathy

Johnnie Yates et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2022.

Abstract

Angiostrongylus cantonensis is an emerging parasite that is the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis worldwide. Human infection typically presents with headache, neck stiffness, and paresthesia. We report a case of a woman with PCR positive A. cantonensis infection who presented with symptoms of small fiber neuropathy (SFN) but no headache. SFN was confirmed by skin biopsy. After failing standard medications for neuropathy, she was treated with intravenous lidocaine with considerable improvement. However, she required medications for 1 year to treat her chronic neuropathy. Infection by A. cantonensis should be added to the list of causes of SFN, and its potential to cause chronic sequelae should be appreciated.

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Figures

Figure 1.

Skin biopsies of the patient’s right leg with significantly reduced intraepidermal nerve fiber density. The right calf (A) had 1.7 fibers/mm (normal > 7.1/mm) and the right thigh (B) had 5.5 fibers/mm (normal > 7.0/mm). This figure appears in color at

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