Short communicationMRI-findings of nodular lesions in an enlarged spleen, associated with visceral Leishmaniasis

We present a case of a 15-month-old Moroccan girl with fever of unknown origin, hepatosplenomegaly and multiple hypoechoic nodular splenic lesions that appear hypodense on CT. T2-weighted MRI sequences show a markedly inhomogeneous intensity of the parenchyma, seemingly caused by multiple ill-defined and heterogeneous hypointense nodules. Laboratory tests confirmed a recent infection with Leishmania, a parasite endemic to (sub)tropic regions. During and after therapy these lesions gradually resolved. To our knowledge this is the second published case in which different imaging modalities were able to demonstrate organ lesions associated with Leishmania. It is also the first report of MRI-findings associated with these lesions.

► We confirm a previous report that infection with Leishmania can manifest multiple nodular lesions of the spleen. ► We confirm these lesions to be readily detectable with present imaging modalities. ► We affirm the fact that these lesions are hypoechoic on ultrasound, though in our case no hypoechoic halo was observed. ► We found these lesions to be hypodense on CT in the delayed phase after intravenous contrast administration. ► In addition to these previous findings we found that the spleen showed an inhomogeneous intensity on MRI; upon closer examination whilst scrolling through the T2-weighted sequences we can note multiple ill-defined and heterogeneous hypointense nodules.