PICTORIAL REVIEW OF THORACIC PARASITIC DISEASES: A RADIOLOGICAL GUIDE.

Parasitosis are infectious diseases of global distribution, with predominance in areas of poor sanitation. Parasites cause damage through direct tissue injury and the inflammatory response generated by their migration and establishment in various organs. Thoracic involvement by parasitic disease can generate both specific and nonspecific clinical, laboratorial and radiological manifestations, which often makes it a diagnostic challenge. The correct diagnosis is crucial for definition of treatment, which sometimes requires rapid intervention. Based on a literature review of the last few decades, this article aims to characterize the main radiological findings related to thoracic manifestations of parasitic diseases, correlating them with radiographic and tomographic images of patients with confirmed diagnosis of such pathologies. The included parasitic diseases are malaria, Chagas disease, ascariasis, strongyloidiasis, toxoplasmosis, echinococcosis, cysticercosis, schistosomiasis, dirofilariasis and paragonimiasis.