Pentastomiasis, a zoonotic parasite infection, is typically found in the respiratory tract and viscera of the host, including humans. Here, we report for the first time an extremely rare case of intraosseous pentastomiasis in the human maxilla suffering from medication related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ). A 55-year-old male had continuously visited the hospital for MRONJ which had primarily developed after bisphosphonate and anti-neoplastic administration for previous bone metastasis of medullary thyroid cancer. Pain, bone exposure, and pus discharge in the right mandible and left maxilla were seen. Osteolysis with maxillary cortical bone perforation at the left buccal vestibule, palate, nasal cavity, and maxillary sinus was observed by radiologic images. A biopsy was done at the left maxilla and through pathological evaluation, a parasite with features of pentastome was revealed within the necrotic bone tissue. Further history taking and laboratory evaluation was done. The parasite was suspected to be infected through maxillary open wounds caused by MRONJ. Awareness of intraosseous pentastomiasis should be emphasized not to be missed behind the MRONJ. Proper evaluation and interpretation for past medical history may lead to correct differential diagnosis and therapeutic intervention for parasite infections.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw: A Systematic Review of Case Reports and Case Series Filipa Frutuoso, Filipe Freitas, Miguel Vilares, Helena Francisco, Duarte Marques, João Caramês, André Moreira Diseases.2024; 12(9): 205. CrossRef
Cancerogenic parasites in veterinary medicine: a narrative literature review Niccolò Fonti, Francesca Parisi, Francesca Mancianti, Giulia Freer, Alessandro Poli Infectious Agents and Cancer.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Morphological and molecular description of Armillifer moniliformis larvae isolated from Sri Lankan brown palm civet (Paradoxurus montanus) C. Rajapaksha, A. P. Amarasinghe, S. Fernando, R. P. V. J. Rajapakse, D. Tappe, S. Wickramasinghe Parasitology Research.2020; 119(3): 773. CrossRef
Answer to January 2021 Photo Quiz Damien Costa, Pascal Rottenberg, Emmanuel Toure, Pascal Delaunay, Loic Favennec, Gilles Gargala, Erik Munson Journal of Clinical Microbiology.2020;[Epub] CrossRef
Identifikasi Parasit Pentastomida pada Biawak Air (Varanus salvator) yang akan dikonsumsi Andhika Yudhantama Subroto, I Komang Wiarsa Sardjana, Moh Sukmanadi, E Djoko Poetranto, Kusnoto Kusnoto, Agus Sunarso Journal of Parasite Science.2020;[Epub] CrossRef