TY - JOUR T1 - Clinical characteristics and management of neurocysticercosis patients: a retrospective assessment of case reports from Europe. JF - J Travel Med Y1 - 2023 A1 - Dominik Stelzle A1 - Annette Abraham A1 - Miriam Kaminski A1 - Veronika Schmidt A1 - Robert De Meijere A1 - Javier A Bustos A1 - Hector Hugo Garcia A1 - Priyadarshi Soumyaranjan Sahu A1 - Branko Bobić A1 - Carmen Cretu A1 - Peter Chiodini A1 - Veronique Dermauw A1 - Brecht Devleesschauwer A1 - Pierre Dorny A1 - Ana Fonseca A1 - Sarah Gabriël A1 - Maria Ángeles Gómez Morales A1 - Minerva Laranjo-González A1 - Achim Hoerauf A1 - Ewan Hunter A1 - Ronan Jambou A1 - Maja Jurhar-Pavlova A1 - Ingrid Reiter-Owona A1 - Smaragda Sotiraki A1 - Chiara Trevisan A1 - Manuela Vilhena A1 - Naomi F Walker A1 - Lorenzo Zammarchi A1 - Andrea Sylvia Winkler KW - Clinical epidemiology KW - Europe KW - Global Health KW - NCC management KW - neglected tropical diseases KW - Neurocysticercosis KW - One Health KW - Taenia solium AB -

OBJECTIVES: Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a parasitic disease caused by the larval stage of the tapeworm Taenia solium. NCC mainly occurs in Africa, Latin America and South-East Asia and can cause a variety of clinical signs/symptoms. Although it is a rare disease in Europe, it should nonetheless be considered as a differential diagnosis. The aim of this study was to describe clinical characteristics and management of patients with NCC diagnosed and treated in Europe.

METHODS: We conducted a systematic search of published and unpublished data on patients diagnosed with NCC in Europe (2000-2019) and extracted demographic, clinical and radiological information on each case, if available.

RESULTS: Out of 293 identified NCC cases, 59% of patients presented initially with epileptic seizures (21% focal onset); 52% presented with headache and 54% had other neurological signs/symptoms. The majority of patients had a travel or migration history (76%), mostly from/to Latin America (38%), Africa (32%) or Asia (30%). Treatment varied largely depending on cyst location and number. The outcome was favorable in 90% of the cases.

CONCLUSIONS: Management of NCC in Europe varied considerably but often had a good outcome. Travel and migration to and from areas endemic for T. solium will likely result in continued low prevalence of NCC in Europe. Therefore, training and guidance of clinicians is recommended for optimal patient management.

VL - 30 CP - 1 M3 - 10.1093/jtm/taac102 ER -