Toxocariasis Treatment & Management

  • Author: Sun Huh, MD, PhD; Chief Editor: Burke A Cunha, MD   more...
 
Updated: Apr 18, 2012
 

Medical Care

  • Chemotherapy is the treatment of choice in most patients with liver, lung, or eye involvement. Occasionally, ocular involvement requires ocular surgery.
  • Treatment includes mebendazole, thiabendazole, corticosteroids, and specific organ treatment. The prognosis of toxocariasis is generally favorable.
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Surgical Care

  • For liver or lung involvement, no surgical care is required.
  • For ocular involvement with retinal detachment, laser treatment may be considered.
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Consultations

  • A consultation with an ophthalmologist is indicated in cases of ocular larva migrans.
  • Consultation with a neurologist is indicated in cases of brain involvement with neurologic symptoms or seizures.
  • Consultation with an infectious disease specialist may be indicated when questions exist regarding the indications for and selection of treatment for visceral larva migrans.
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Diet

No diet restrictions are required.

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Activity

No activity restriction is required.

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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Sun Huh, MD, PhD  Chairman, Professor, Department of Parasitology, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Korea

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Sooung Lee, PhD  Team Manager, Research and Development, Chuncheon Bioindustry Foundation, Chuncheon-do, Korea

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Pranatharthi Haran Chandrasekar, MBBS, MD  Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Director of Infectious Disease Fellowship, Harper Hospital, Wayne State University School of Medicine

Pranatharthi Haran Chandrasekar, MBBS, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians and Infectious Diseases Society of America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD  Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Medscape Salary Employment

Gordon L Woods, MD  Consulting Staff, Department of Internal Medicine, University Medical Center

Gordon L Woods, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Society of General Internal Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Eleftherios Mylonakis, MD  Clinical and Research Fellow, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital

Eleftherios Mylonakis, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American College of Physicians, American Society for Microbiology, and Infectious Diseases Society of America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Burke A Cunha, MD  Professor of Medicine, State University of New York School of Medicine at Stony Brook; Chief, Infectious Disease Division, Winthrop-University Hospital

Burke A Cunha, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Physicians, and Infectious Diseases Society of America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

References

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  2. Nelson S, Greene T, Ernhart CB. Toxocara canis infection in preschool age children: risk factors and the cognitive development of preschool children. Neurotoxicol Teratol. Mar-Apr 1996;18(2):167-74. [Medline].

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  4. Magnaval JF, Michault A, Calon N, et al. Epidemiology of human toxocariasis in La Réunion. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. Sep-Oct 1994;88(5):531-3. [Medline].

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The image on the left is a posteroanterior chest radiograph in a patient with toxocariasis. The image on the right is a CT scan of the patient with toxocariasis showing multiple pulmonary nodules with surrounding ground-glass opacities at first visit.
Funduscopic examination of the right eye of a patient with ocular toxocariasis showing rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.
Immunogold finding of Toxocara canis larva reacted with a seropositive human serum. Arrows indicate each particle. (A) High-density immunogold particles are distributed in the large columnlike secretory cell (LCSC), excretory duct (ED), and cuticle(C); (B) high-density immunogold particles are shown in the secretory cell (SC), excretory duct (ED), and cuticle; (C) immunogold particles are distributed in the excretory duct (ED); (D) high-density particles are displayed in the microvilli of the intestine (MI); (E) immunogold particles are shown in the excretory duct; and (F) high-density immunogold particles are distributed in the cuticle(C).
 
 
 
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