ANATOMOPATHOLOGIC FINDINGS IN CARDIAC CYSTICERCOSIS: A POSTMORTEM STUDY

Abstract

Cysticercosis is a parasitic disease produced by the larval stage of the Taenia solium and the heart is one of the sites of infection. In spite of the fact that neurocysticercosis is well described in the literature, there are few reports on cardiac cysticercosis what justifies the performance of this study. Objective: the present study aimed at the dynamic evaluation of the host-parasite relationship in cardiac cysticercosis in autopsy material. Materials and Methods: Records of autopsies performed at the Federal University of the Triangulo Mineiro Hospital, Uberaba, Brazil, from 1970 to 2005, were reviewed. From the selected cases, a morphological analysis was performed to identify the general pathological processes. Results: The occurrence of cysticercosis was verified in 71(3.2%) cases. Despite encephalic occurrence being the most frequent (74.6%), cardiac localization (25.4%) was the second most encountered in our material, mainly in non-Caucasian individuals (72.3%). Several pathological processes were found, such as glycogen deposits, amyloidosis, fibrosis and fibroelastosis that showed association with cardiac cysticercosis. Conclusion: These data contribute to the knowledge of cardiac cysticercosis pathology and its possible anatomo-clinical correlations.