Table 3. Diagnostic procedures to ascertain the diagnosis of alveolar echinococcosisa.
| Histopathologyb | Imagingc | Serologyd | No. of patients (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| + |
+ |
+ |
176 (31.5) |
||
| + |
+ |
– |
48 (8.6) |
||
| + |
– |
+ |
19 (3.4) |
||
| + |
– |
– |
56 (10.0) |
||
| Subtotal |
299 (53.5) |
||||
| - |
+ |
+ |
192 (34.3) |
||
| - |
+ |
- |
25 (4.5) |
||
| Subtotal |
217 (38.8) |
||||
| Data not available |
43 (7.7) |
||||
| Total | 559 (100.0) | ||||
aAll documented techniques, applied during 6 months after initial examination. +, positive result in the respective tests/examinations; –, negative result, tests/examinations not done, or data not available. bExamination of liver tissue samples carried out on material removed by surgery, diagnostic laparoscopy, or, in rare instances, by fine needle biopsy. cComprised one or several examinations, i.e., ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), or magnetic resonance imagry (MRI) of the abdomen. In some cases, X-ray, CT, or MRI were available on brain, chest, or other organs. dIncluded screening methods using different crude antigen preparations in indirect hemagglutination or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). In addition, purified and recombinant antigen preparations such as Em2+, Em10 or Em18 were used in ELISA, Western blot, or both.