Reversal of liver fibrosis after splenectomy in a patient with advanced schistosomiasis japonica: A case report with 4-year follow-up

摘要

Schistosomiasis is a serious parasitic disease caused by blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma[1,2]. As one of the 17 neglected tropical diseases listed by the World Health Organization, itpresents the greatest public health and global burden, leading to 200 million infections andthreatening 800 million in 78 countries worldwide [1,3,4]. China is one of them, but it hasbeen able to decrease morbidity and prevalence of schistosomiasis japonica prominently [5,6].Estimates show that although the number of schistosomiasis cases in China drops sharply, thenumber of advanced cases of schistosomiasis japonica sustained and even rose, from 22,786in 2000 to 30,573 in 2016 [6, 7]. Advanced schistosomiasis is the most severe form of schistosomiasis japonica. This debilitating condition is associated with liver fibrosis and/or cirrhosis,splenomegaly, portal hypertension, ascites, and gastroesophageal varices, leading to disabilityor even death [2,5,8]. Therefore, advanced schistosomiasis japonica becomes a severe healthburden in China. Therefore, the critical issue confronting China in schistosomiasis controlis the challenge of advanced schistosomiasis, especially on the road to elimination of thisdiseases.