Abstract:

The patient is a 34-year-old male from Qingdao, Shandong, who works in the insurance industry. He experienced headaches for over a month and visited the Qingdao Branch of Qilu Hospital of Shandong University on May 31, 2023, due to “worsening headaches”. He was admitted for intracranial infection and treated with acyclovir, dexamethasone, and mannitol (specific doses not provided). On June 18, he was transferred to the Affiliated Hospital of Digestive Diseases of Shandong First Medical University. The patient reported travelling to Dali, Yunnan, on May 1, 2023, during which he consumed snail meat. After returning home, he began experiencing headaches, accompanied by general discomfort and chest tightness. Admitted for physical examination, he remained conscious, with significant headaches in an upright position, and had a normal diet and bowel movements. Blood routine tests showed elevated eosinophil count (0.86 × 10⁹/L) and percentage (10.70%). A plain cranial CT scan revealed normal brain parenchyma density with no abnormal density shadows or space-occupying lesions. The ELISA results of cerebrospinal fluid and blood samples showed weakly positive IgG antibodies for Angiostrongylus cantonensis, while other parasite antibody were negative. He was diagnosed with angiostrongyliasis. He was treated with albendazole [20 mg/(kg·d), 3 times a day, continuous oral administration for 7 days] and dexamethasone [0.15 mg/(kg·d) intravenously for 3 days] for treatment. On June 28, the headache symptoms of the patient had disappeared, and his eosinophil count and percentage returned to normal values, and he was discharged. Two months later, a follow-up examination showed normal blood tests, negative IgG antibody tests for A. cantonensis, and no other discomfort.

Key words: Angiostrongyliasis, Eosinophilia, Imported cases