Korean J Parasitol.  2009 Jun;47(2):167-170. 10.3347/kjp.2009.47.2.167.

Anchitrema sanguineum (Digenea: Anchitrematidae) Accidentally Found during Colonoscopy of a Patient with Chronic Abdominal Pain: A Case Report

• Kusolsuk T
• Paiboon N
• Pubampen S
• Maipanich
• Dekumyoy P
• Waikagul J

• KMID: 1720627
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3347/kjp.2009.47.2.167

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.

Keyword

Anchitrema sanguineum; human; colonoscopy; Thailand

MeSH Terms

Abdominal Pain/*etiology
Animals
Antiprotozoal Agents/therapeutic use
Cecum/parasitology
Colonoscopy
Humans
Intestinal Mucosa/parasitology
Male
Middle Aged
Praziquantel/therapeutic use
Thailand
Trematoda/*isolation & purification
Trematode Infections/*diagnosis/drug therapy/pathology