[Osteolytic bone lesion: vertebral alveolar echinococcosis in a patient with splenectomy]

Abstract

Introduction: Osteolytic lesions are not always related to malignancies.

Case report: We report an 82-year-old woman suffering from subcostal pain. The patient underwent a splenectomy 40 years previously. CT-scan and MRI highlighted a calcified hepatic lesion associated with an osteolytic lesion of the L5 vertebra. Osteolytic and hepatic lesions were attributed to an alveolar echinococcosis based on positive serological assays.

Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first report of an alveolar echinococcosis in a patient with splenectomy and secondary lesions. We suggest that the splenectomy could have promoted the parasite spreading to vertebra.

Keywords: Alveolar echinococcosis; Bone lesion; Echinococcus multilocularis; Localisation osseuse; Splenectomy; Splénectomie; Échinococcose alvéolaire.