Maher khashea Mustafa, Wamedh E. Matti, Hussain Kadhum, Zahraa M. Kareem, Zahraa A. Alsubaihawi, Zahraa F. Al-Sharshahi, Samer S. Hoz
Introduction: Cerebral hydatid disease, accounts for 1 – 25 of all hydatid cases. In this paper, we report a rare case of a giant primary cerebral hydatid cyst presenting solely as a seizure in a two-year-old child. This case is unique both in the size of the cyst and clinical presentation. We additionally review the literature on giant cerebral hydatid cysts.
Methods: A PubMed database search was conducted using the following combination of medical subject headings terms: “giant cerebral hydatid cyst” OR “giant intracranial hydatid cyst”. The focus of the review was to identify cases of giant intracranial hydatid cyst in the pediatric age group and whether it was associated with seizures. The following set of data was collected from each study: age, gender, presence of seizure, other presentations, site of intracranial hydatid cyst, and other organ involvement.
Results: A total of 23 studies (26 cases) were included in the review of those, nine studies (10 cases) including ours described the presence of seizures. The most common presentations were headache (17 cases), papilledema (15 cases), hemiparesis, seizure, and vomiting (10 cases). The most common location for intracranial cysts was intraventricular at 19.2% (five cases). The next common locations were the parietal and frontoparietal, accounting for 30.6% (eight cases) of all cases. Other reported sites were temporoparietal (11.5%, three cases), frontotemproparietal (3.8%, one case), and cerebellar (3.8%, one case).
Conclusion: Giant cerebral hydatid cysts should be in the differential of children presenting with seizures and cystic brain masses, especially in endemic regions. Meticulous surgical technique is paramount to maximize patient outcomes.
Keywords: Giant cysts; cerebral hydatid disease; pediatric seizures