Incidental finding of heart and brain echinococcosis in a patient with carbon monoxide poisoning

Abstract

Heart and brain involvement of hydatid disease are rare findings in autopsy practice. We report the case of a 26-year-old man, admitted for a carbon monoxide poisoning, who died after 24 days of hospitalisation with hypoxic encephalopathy. After an underdiagnosed hospital ultrasound finding and a relevant history, the autopsy revealed not only the hepatic hydatid cyst but also an extensive microscopic echinococcosis that affected the heart and the brain. Those results, traumatic and non-traumatic can be difficult to interpret in relation to medico-legal investigation and patient history.