Primary Solitary and Multiple Intracranial Cyst Hydatid Disease: Report of Four Cases

Intracranial hydatid disease is rare, with reported incidence of 1-2% of all cases with hydatid disease and most of these cases present in childhood. In this report, we describe four children with primary hydatid disease of the brain. All four patients were diagnosed with cranial Magnetic Resonance Imaging and in direct hemagglutination test for Echinococcus granulosus. Of these four children, three had cysts in cerebral localization and one in cerebellar localization. Two children had multiple and one of them had recurrent cerebral hydatid disease. All patients received albendazole treatment. While three patients did well after surgical excision, a ventriculo peritoneal shunt was placed in one. Also, this child was operated for duramater defect. This report shows that primary hydatid disease of brain is still a difficult problem despite all advances in diagnostic methods and surgical techniques.