CLINICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CYSTIC ECHINOCOCCOSIS IN CHILDREN FROMA TERTIARY CENTER IN PERU

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) in children is a public health problem. To describe the clinical and epidemiological profile of CE, we reviewed the records of 55 children admitted to our institution with a confirmed diagnosis of CE between 2017-2019, analyzing demographic data, clinical manifestations, and treatment. Of the population, 61.8% (34/55) were male. The mean age was 9.25 years (SD: 2.79); 16.4% had previous CE diagnosis, and 50.9% had contact with dogs. The median time of illness was 2 months. Of the patients, 65.5% had hepatic involvement, 56.4% had pulmonary involvement, and 21.8% had both hepatic and pulmonary involvement. The most frequent symptoms were abdominal pain (80.6%) and cough (80.6%). Surgical treatment was performed in 87.5% of patients with hepatic CE, in 100% of those with pulmonary CE and in 100% of those with hepatic and pulmonary CE. Albendazole was prescribed in 100% of hepatic cases, in 73.7% of pulmonary cases, and in 75% of those with both conditions. Mortality was not reported.