Abstract
The worm of Echinostoma hortense has never been found in human alimentary canal or feces, although the ova were detected in human feces. It is still not known where the worms inhabit in the human body, though Yoshida et al. found the worms in the upper portion of the small intestine in the dog. In this study, the authors found the worms in the small intestine by using a small intestinal fiberscope ; test model SIF-2c, Olympus (diameter llmm, length 1, 900mm), which was inserted per os with the aid of the ropeway method. Case 1 was a 48 year-old-man presented with upper abdominal pain and watery diarrhea. Case 2 was a 31 year-old-man with persistent epigastralgia and back pain. Both cases had taken raw loaches previously. By endoscopic observation, white worms were found in the upper portion of the jejunum accompanied by multiple erosions on mucous membrane. Following the administration of anthelmintics, 49 of Echinostoma hortense and Echinochasmus japonicus were confirmed in feces of Case 1. To our knowledge, these 2 cases are the first ones in the world, in which Echinostoma hortense were observed in the small intestine by using an endoscope and were obtained in the feces following the antiparasitic therapy.
