Lethal invasive cestodiasis is a disorder associated with disseminated spread of a larval cestode. Molecular methods should be used to speciate the organism since morphology alone may be unreliable.
Clinical features:
(1) The patient is immunocompromised, often with AIDS.
(2) The patient develops a systemic illness with multi-organ involvement, including bone. Some patients may present with a mass suspected of being a tumor.
(3) Biopsy shows acephalic larval cestodes which are malformed.
Early reports diagnosed the larva as Sparganosis. Olson et al using molecular methods to speciate the larva. One case was identified as Hymenolepis nana while a second was an unidentified species.
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