Human pulmonary dirofilariasis. Report of three cases and brief review of the literature

Three patients with human pulmonary dirofilariasis are presented. The clinical, parasitologic, and pathologic features of this entity are discussed, and the literature is briefly reviewed. A condition that generally has been considered to be an innocuous process can manifest with repeated pulmonary infarctions and multiple pulmonary nodules. At present, there are no distinguishing clinical, roentgenographic, or laboratory features that permit its diagnosis preoperatively. The purpose of this article is to add three more cases to the literature and to increase awareness of this clinicopathologic entity.