Epidemiology, clinical features, and outcomes of strongyloidiasis in Taiwan from 1988 to 2020: A case series and literature review

Objectives: We described a case of Strongyloides hyperinfection syndrome, re-ported a case series, and reviewed published cases of strongyloidiasis in Taiwan.Methods: Confirmed cases of strongyloidiasis at the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) and NTUH Hsin-Chu Branch from 1988 to 2020 were identified in the medical record database. Literature search was carried out through Pubmed, Google Scholar, and Index to Taiwan Periodical Literature System to identify published cases of strongyloidiasis in Taiwan from 1979 to 2020. Data pertaining to the demographics, underlying medical conditions, clin-ical manifestations, laboratory findings, and outcomes were extracted. Results: A total of 117 cases of strongyloidiasis were identified, including 20 previously unpub-lished cases from the two hospitals and 97 published cases in the literature. Overall, 85 (73%) were male and the mean age was 64 years (range, 6-95 years). Classical symptoms such as diarrhea, cough, and skin rash were only observed in 43%, 37%, and 18% of the patients, respec-tively, whereas eosinophilia at presentation was only found in 48%. Strongyloides hyperinfec-tion syndrome and disseminated strongyloidiasis were identified in 41 (35%) and 4 (3%) patients, respectively. Four (3%) patients had concurrent meningitis. In univariable analysis, being older and having pre-existing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma were associated with hyperinfection or dissemination (p Z 0.024 and 0.003, respectively). The mor-tality rate was 43% among those with hyperinfection or disseminated infection. Conclusions: Strongyloidiasis can cause serious complications and mortality. Efforts to diag-nose strongyloidiasis early are urgently needed to improve the outcome of patients with stron-gyloidiasis in Taiwan. Copyright 2022, Taiwan Society of Microbiology. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).