title: Chronic diarrhea and abdominal pain: pin the pinworm.
abstract: Enterobius vermicularis is the most common helminthic infection in the US. It is usually considered an innocuous parasite that at the most causes perianal itching. We report a case of an 84-year-old female patient from an assisted living facility who presented with symptoms of colitis for 2 months. On detailed history and exam, she was found to have E. vermicularis infection. All her symptoms resolved dramatically within 2 days after a single dose of albendazole. We want to emphasize the importance of including parasitic infections such as E. vermicularis in the differential diagnoses of patients presenting with symptoms of colitis.
authors.affiliation: Cleveland Clinic, Ohio 44195, USA.
authors.forename: Anitha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rajamanickam
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Usmani
authors.forename: Sanjeev
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suri
authors.forename: Vesselin
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dimov
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000469:parasitology; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015766:Albendazole / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003092:Colitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000469:parasitology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000469:parasitology; D017229:Enterobiasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D004757:Enterobius / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000871:Anthelmintics; D015766:Albendazole