Parasites, Hosts and Diseases

The Korea Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (대한기생충학·열대의학회)
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Delayed Cerebral Toxoplasmosis in a Kidney Transplant Patient: a Case Report

  • Myeong, Hosung (Department of Neurosurgery, Seoul Metropolitan Government–Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center) ;
  • Park, Moowan (Department of Neurosurgery, Seoul Metropolitan Government–Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center) ;
  • Kim, Ji Eun (Department of Pathology, Seoul Metropolitan Government–Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine) ;
  • Park, Sun Won (Department of Radiology, Seoul Metropolitan Government–Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine) ;
  • Lee, Sang Hyung (Department of Neurosurgery, Seoul Metropolitan Government–Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center)
  • Received : 2021.10.14
  • Accepted : 2021.12.21
  • Published : 2022.02.28
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Abstract

Cerebral toxoplasmosis is often life-threatening in an immunocompromised patient due to delayed diagnosis and treatment. Several differential diagnoses could be possible only with preoperative brain images of cerebral toxoplasmosis which show multiple rim-enhancing lesions. Due to the rarity of cerebral toxoplasmosis cases in Korea, the diagnosis and treatment are often delayed. This paper concerns a male patient whose cerebral toxoplasmosis was activated 21 years post kidney transplantation. Brain open biopsy was decided to make an exact diagnosis. Cerebral toxoplasmosis was confirmed by immunohistochemistry and PCR analyses of the tissue samples. Although cerebral toxoplasmosis was under control with medication, the patient did not recover clinically and died due to sepsis and recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This report was approved by our Institutional Review Board, and the requirement for informed consent was waived (IRB number: 20-2021-94).

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