Non Specific Inflammation: A Waste-Basket Diagnosis Harboring Cysticercus–Report of Two Cases

Cysticercosis is a well known parasitic infestation occurring at multiple sites including brain, muscles, liver, lungs, heart and peritoneum. Clinical presentation may be misleading most of the times. We herewith report two cases of oral cysticercosis which we encountered in our setup within a week. Both patients were young, urban vegetarian females presenting with cheek swelling. One had a diffuse swelling while other developed a cystic lesion. We found dead worm in the haematoxylin and eosin stained sections, but one may not always find it. Therefore, a high index of suspicion is needed in endemic areas. In cases of nonspecific inflammation serial sectioning and processing of the whole specimen is recommended before signing off a case as non specific inflammation even more, if we have calcific deposits. The correct diagnosis is of huge importance as involvement of other organs may give rise to serious complications. We report two cases of oral cysticercosis which reveal the importance of the histopathologic examination, emphasizing the need to include cysticercosis in the differential diagnosis of oral nodular lesions in endemic areas. Informed consent was taken from both the patients prior to the examination.