title: Anchitrema sanguineum (Digenea: Anchitrematidae) accidentally found during colonoscopy of a patient with chronic abdominal pain: a case report.
abstract: In November 2007, a 46-year-old male Thai patient presented with chronic abdominal pain for over 3 years. Colonoscopy revealed a small parasite of about 2 x 1 mm in size attached to the cecum mucosa. The worm was removed endoscopically, fixed, and stained for morphological observations. The specimen was identified as Anchitrema sanguineum (Digenea: Anchitrematidae), a trematode first reported in a reptile, Chamaeleo vulgaris, from Egypt, and then sporadically found in the intestines of insectivorous bats and other mammals. The patient was treated with praziquantel but no more worms were found in his stool. His symptoms improved slightly but not cured completely. It remains unclear whether the chronic abdominal pain of the patient was caused by this trematode infection. Whatever is the pathogenicity of this trematode, this is the first human case of A. sanguineum infection in the literature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Helminthology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Teera
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kusolsuk
authors.forename: Nantana
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Paiboon
authors.forename: Somchit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pubampen
authors.forename: Wanna
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Maipanich
authors.forename: Paron
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dekumyoy
authors.forename: Jitra
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Waikagul
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D000818:Animals; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002432:Cecum / Q000469:parasitology; D003113:Colonoscopy; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011223:Praziquantel / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013785:Thailand; D014200:Trematoda / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014201:Trematode Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D011223:Praziquantel