A case of spontaneous pneumothorax complicating gnathostomiasis.

Infections with larvae and immature adults of the nematode Gnathostoma spinigerum, acquired by eating raw fish, are of frequent occurrence in Eastern countries:’ in Thailand recurrent migratory cutaneous swellings are usually pathognomonic of this infection. The parasites have been observed emerging from the skin,2 and from natural openings such as the vagina and urethral orifice. Some have been picked out or excised from cutaneous nodules or abscesses,2’ 3 others have been found in the abdominal cavity3’ ‘ and vitreous chamber of the eye.3 Although observations of transient pulmonary shadows associated with the condition and of the