[Porocephalosis, a little known parasitosis, literature review and a Congolese case report].

The authors describe another case of symptomatic porocephalosis in a 59-year-old man from the Congo and review recent epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory data from the literature concerning pentastomiasis in man. There are a variety of modes of transmission to man, parasitic dead end, and sites of infection. A perusal of symptomatic cases reported since 1970 confirms that complications are mainly associated with uncalcified nymphal forms. This poses a diagnostic problem since clinical and laboratory findings associated with young forms in non-specific. When feasible, surgical resection of infested tissue allows diagnosis and treatment. Many questions remain unanswered concerning the incidence of pentastomiasis in endemic areas, its physiopathology, and its relationship with cirrhosis and liver cancer in the tropics. New diagnostic techniques (serologic tests, ultrasonography, CT-scan) may help to resolve these issues.