[A case of sparganosis with eosinophilic pleural effusion].

A 61 year-old man was admitted to our hospital complaining of exertional dyspnea and presented with left pleural effusion. Laboratory findings showed peripheral eosinophilia and a slightly elevated inflammatory reaction. Chest X-ray film and CT revealed left pleural effusion, but there were no particular abnormal findings on the lung fields. Pleural effusion was exudative, yellowish and contained numerous eosinophils. His detailed medical history showed that he had eaten uncooked snakes, which led us to suspect parasite diseases. Multiple-dot ELISA method was performed to detect specific anti-parasite antibody. The patient was diagnosed with sparganosis after the detection of a highly positive reaction against Spirometra erinacei-europaei in both serum and pleural effusion. Parasite disease is an important consideration on differential diagnosis of eosinophilic pleural effusion, and multiple-dot ELISA method might be helpful for screening it.