Angiostrongylus costaricensis: Systematic Review of Case Reports

Introduction: Abdominal angiostrongyliasis is an infrequently diagnosed disease because it is little known and is usually well tolerated. Methods: We carried out a systematic review with PubMed as a search engine for the MedLine database, and we analysed the clinical, epidemiological and analytical parameters of this disease. Results: In total, reports of 27 case have been found, together with a series of 116 patients, which were later augmented up to 194 patients. In the results, we have observed a predominance of male patients, and Costa Rica, Brazil and the United States as the main countries of origin. Typical symptoms include abdominal pain on the right iliac fossa, with leukocytosis and eosinophilia. Discussion: There are some serological diagnostic methods, although lack of standardization leads to most of the diagnoses being reached via pathology. Surgery is the usual treatment approach. Although there are medical options, this is a controversial subject because of the low number of cases published in the literature, which implies an absence of solid studies.