Abstract
We report a case of intestinal amebiasis treated successfully with metronidazole. A 72-year-old male who had traveled two times to Southeast Asia was admitted to our hospital because of chronic constipation. A barium enema showed polyps from the descending colon to the rectum and a slight irregularitiy of contour in the cecum. On the first colonoscopic examination, nine polyps and a “collar stud” ulcer were observed. All these polyps were removed out endoscopically and they were adenoma (group III). Many trophozoites of Entameba histolytica were discovered in the biopsied specimens from the ulcer margin. After treatment with 500mg/d of metronidazole for 14 days, the ulcer in the cecum was cured completely, and the constipation subsided spontaneously.
In our country, the incidence of amebic colitis has been gradually increasing since 1979, so amebiasis should be remembered in the differential diagnosis of inflammatory bowel diseases.
