Intestinal paragonimiasis with colonic ulcer and hematochezia in an elderly Taiwanese woman

Abstract

A 94-year-old female with end-stage renal disease presents with fever, fatigue, and hematochezia. She had pre- viously resided in Hunan Province, China, and Myanmar, and she immigrated to Taiwan 30 years ago. Colonoscopy re- vealed a colonic ulcer. Biopsy of the colonic ulcer showed ulceration of the colonic mucosa, and many Paragonimus wes- termani-like eggs were noted. Serum IgG antibody levels showed strong reactivity with P. westermani excretory-secretory antigens by ELISA. Intestinal paragonimiasis was thus diagnosed according to the morphology of the eggs and serologic fnding. After treatment with praziquantel, hematochezia resolved. The present case illustrates the extreme manifestations encountered in severe intestinal paragonimiasis. © 2012, Korean Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine.