Initial misdiagnosis to a revised diagnosis of pulmonary paragonimiasis with elevated serum immunoglobulin G4 concentrations: a case report

An elevation in serum immunoglobulin (Ig) G4 concentrations at only one time point is not a definitive diagnostic marker for IgG4-related diseases. We report two cases of pulmonary paragonimiasis with elevated serum IgG4 concentrations. Patient 1 was a woman in her late 40s with cough and dyspnea fo...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Pengyan Yin, Miaohui Duan, Lingyao Deng, Tianli Li, Xuan Huang, Raohong Fang, Hailong Li, Binliang Bai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2025-02-01
Series:Journal of International Medical Research
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/03000605251317980
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Summary:An elevation in serum immunoglobulin (Ig) G4 concentrations at only one time point is not a definitive diagnostic marker for IgG4-related diseases. We report two cases of pulmonary paragonimiasis with elevated serum IgG4 concentrations. Patient 1 was a woman in her late 40s with cough and dyspnea for 1 week. Patient 2 was a woman in her late 60s with a cough, bloody sputum, chest pain, and wheezing for over 1 month. Patient 1 had eosinophilia, high IgE, IgG, and IgG4 concentrations, right pleural effusion, and lung lesions, resembling tuberculosis. Patient 2 had cavitary lung lesions, pleural involvement, and eosinophilia, and high IgE, IgG, and IgG4 concentrations, with a history of eating raw river crabs. Both patients tested positive for Paragonimus antibodies. Patient 1 received 2 months of anti-parasitic treatment, while Patient 2 had 1 week of treatment. Patient 2 showed improvement and was discharged with normalized Ig concentrations. Increased serum IgG4 concentrations, in conjunction with elevated concentrations of IgG, IgE and eosinophil counts, and a history of travel or residence in areas endemic for paragonimiasis, can be used to distinguish pulmonary paragonimiasis from other etiologies of pneumonia.
ISSN:1473-2300