[Titers of antibodies for visceral for larva migrans in hospitalized patients]. / Títulos de anticuerpos para larvas migratorias viscerales en pacientes hospitalizados.

The antibody titers for Toxocara and Ascaris were investigated in 49 patients of both sexes and hospitalized because of several pathological conditions, finding an 18% with high titer for Toxocara and 22% for Ascaris. Thirty-seven percent of those with positive titer for Ascaris showed ascaris eggs in the stool. Fifty-five percent of those with positive titer for Toxocara had had contact with dogs and cats and 33%, with dogs only. A correlation among the symptoms, chest x-ray, protein electrophoresis, relative eosinophilia and the elevation of antibodies could not be established; however, the patients with high titers for Ascaris and Toxocara showed an absolute eosinophilia higher than the mean. The diagnosis of systemic infection by larvae of Toxocara and Ascaris can be suspected when there is relative eosinophilia of 10% or more, but its confirmation is still difficult except when finding the parasite "in situ". The serological test can help, but it is not definitive. The recently developed tests are more sensitive and open new expectancies.