Pulmonary echinococcosis with chest wall involvement in a patient with no apparent risk factors

Pulmonary hydatid disease is rare in the U.K., and chest wall involvement h as to our knowledge not previously been described in this country. We repor t the case of a 72-year-old man who was found to have a left upper lobe opa city on his chest radiograph. He declined further investigation at the time , but 2 years later developed a palpable mass over his left lateral chest w all. Fine-needle aspiration-biopsy of this mass revealed the diagnosis of p ulmonary hydatid disease. Despite thorough questioning, no risk factor coul d be identified for the development of the disease. Hydatid disease should be remembered as a rare cause of mass lesions identified on chest radiograp hs even in non-endemic regions. Spread to the chest wall may mimic malignan cy. (C) 2001 The British Infection Society.