• Merica Shrestha, Anita Shah, and Christopher Lettieri.
• Departments of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.
• South. Med. J. 2010 Feb 1; 103 (2): 165-8.

AbstractPleuropulmonary amebiasis is an uncommon complication of Entamoeba histolytica infection. It typically occurs in endemic regions including Central and South America, Africa and the Indian subcontinent. The case of a previously healthy US Army male stationed in Liberia with an acute onset of fevers, abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea is presented. He developed a productive cough with pleuritic chest pain and imaging revealed multiple liver abscesses, with rupture through the diaphragm causing a large right pleural empyema. A positive Entamoeba histolytica serum antibody and pleural fluid antigen confirmed the diagnosis. Surgical drainage of the pleural empyema and medical treatment with antiparasitics were necessary for symptom and disease resolution.

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