A serious complication of pulmonary hydatid cysts in children: Cyst rupture

Aim: Rupture is a serious complication of pulmonary hydatid cyst (PHC) and requires urgent surgical inter- vention. We aimed to share our clinical data and experience with PHC ruptures in pediatric patients who were treated in our clinic.

Methods: Data of children who were treated for PHC between 2011 and 2021 were evaluated retrospec- tively. Age, gender, presenting complaint, number and localization of cysts, diameters, and other accompa- nying organ involvement were evaluated. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence of cyst rupture or not. Groups were compared and the differences were investigated. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS 21.0 program, and P<0.005 was considered significant for all variables.

Results: Total 47 patients included in the study. Of these 28 (59.6%) were male. The mean age of the patients was 10.79 (±3.84) years. The rupture was observed in 44.6% (21/47) of the patients. The most common pre- senting complaint was cough (48.9%) in both rupture group (RG) and non-rupture groups (NRG). Hydatidop- tysis and hemoptysis complaints were only detected in the rupture group. There was no difference between the groups in terms of gender, age, number of cysts, cyst size, and other accompanying organ involvements. Cysts were most frequently located in the right hemithorax in RG, and most frequently in the left hemithorax in NRG (P=0.001). While the cysts in RG were most commonly located in the right lower lobe, in NRG, the cysts were most frequently located in the left lower lobe (P=0.031). The mean-diameter of the cysts in RG (84.9 mm) was larger than the diameter of the cysts in NRG (73.34 mm). However, no differences was found between groups (P=0.242).

Conclusion: The rupture rate is high in PHC. Our results showed that rupture risk is higher in cysts located in the lower lobe of the right hemithorax.