Anchitrema sanguineum (Digenea: Anchitrematidae) accidentally found during colonoscopy of a patient with chronic abdominal pain: a case report.
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.
Kusolsuk
Teera
T
Department of Helminthology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Paiboon
Nantana
N
Pubampen
Somchit
S
Maipanich
Wanna
W
Dekumyoy
Paron
P
Waikagul
Jitra
J
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
D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D011223:Praziquantel