title: Human infection with Dicrocoelium dendriticum in Turkey.
abstract: Human dicrocoeliosis is reported sporadically in various parts of the world. We report a case in a 21-year-old male, who had right upper abdominal pain, weight loss, and chronic relapsing watery diarrhea three to four times daily for four weeks. The patient had abdominal tenderness to palpation in the right upper quadrant. Alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, and serum immunoglobulin E levels were slightly elevated; all other biochemical and hematological findings were in their normal ranges. The duodenal biopsy samples were normal and an abdominal ultrasonography showed no biliary or hepatic abnormality. Stool microscopy revealed numerous eggs of Dicrocoelium dendriticum. As pseudoparasitosis can result from eating raw, infected animal liver, the patient was given a liver-free diet for three days, to rule out that possibility. Subsequent stool examinations showed eggs in each of the samples indicating that the infection was genuine. The patient was treated with triclabendazole 10 mg/kg in a single dose. Four weeks later, no parasite eggs were detected in the microscopic examination of the stool samples. The patient got better gradually and the symptoms disappeared. Physicians should keep in mind parasitic diseases such as the rarely encountered dicrocoeliosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Medical Faculty of Yüzüncü Yil University, Van, Turkey.
authors.forename: Zeynep Tas
authors.initials: ZT
authors.lastname: Cengiz
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.forename: Ahmet Cumhur
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Dulger
authors.forename: Mutalip
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cicek
mesh_terms: D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001562:Benzimidazoles / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004011:Dicrocoeliasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D004013:Dicrocoelium / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004403:Dysentery / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000469:parasitology; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D000077682:Triclabendazole; D014421:Turkey; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000871:Anthelmintics; D001562:Benzimidazoles; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D000077682:Triclabendazole; D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase