Rice-Grain Calcifications: A Classic Sign of Muscular Cysticercosis.
- 1Internal Medicine, Unidade Local de Saúde Entre Douro e Vouga, Santa Maria da Feira, PRT.
Abstract
Muscular cysticercosis is an uncommon manifestation of Taenia solium infection, usually discovered incidentally, that produces characteristic elongated intramuscular calcifications on plain radiographs. We describe an 85-year-old man admitted with a viral respiratory infection complicated by respiratory failure, who developed myalgia disproportionate to the infection. Plain radiographs of the lower limbs, obtained to investigate the myalgia, revealed numerous "rice-grain" calcifications parallel to the muscle fibers, consistent with the patient's known history of cysticercosis. Recognizing this pattern as representing chronic, inactive disease avoided unnecessary investigations and antiparasitic treatment. The myalgia was not attributable to the calcified lesions and was instead attributed to a combination of the patient's advanced age, hospitalization-related immobilization, and the viral infection itself, deep vein thrombosis having been excluded. Symptoms resolved within one week with paracetamol alone. This case highlights the importance of correctly attributing incidental radiographic findings so as not to delay recognition of the true cause of a patient's symptoms.
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BibTeX
@article{soares2026ricegrain,
title = {{Rice-Grain Calcifications: A Classic Sign of Muscular Cysticercosis.}},
author = {Daniela Soares and Iara Ferreira and Joana Sequeira},
journal = {Cureus},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.7759/cureus.116619},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909195},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Rice-Grain Calcifications: A Classic Sign of Muscular Cysticercosis.
AU - Daniela Soares
AU - Iara Ferreira
AU - Joana Sequeira
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/21
JO - Cureus
DO - 10.7759/cureus.116619
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909195
AB - Muscular cysticercosis is an uncommon manifestation of Taenia solium infection, usually discovered incidentally, that produces characteristic elongated intramuscular calcifications on plain radiographs. We describe an 85-year-old man admitted with a viral respiratory infection complicated by respiratory failure, who developed myalgia disproportionate to the infection. Plain radiographs of the lower limbs, obtained to investigate the myalgia, revealed numerous "rice-grain" calcifications parallel to the muscle fibers, consistent with the patient's known history of cysticercosis. Recognizing this pattern as representing chronic, inactive disease avoided unnecessary investigations and antiparasitic treatment. The myalgia was not attributable to the calcified lesions and was instead attributed to a combination of the patient's advanced age, hospitalization-related immobilization, and the viral infection itself, deep vein thrombosis having been excluded. Symptoms resolved within one week with paracetamol alone. This case highlights the importance of correctly attributing incidental radiographic findings so as not to delay recognition of the true cause of a patient's symptoms.
SN - 2168-8184
ER -