Taenia asiatica infection diagnosed with capsule endoscopy

Abstract

A 59-year-old female presented to the gastroenterology clinic of our hospital after passing proglottids in her stool. Capsule endoscopy revealed a white cestode in the small intestine. Amidotrizoic acid was administered through a duodenal tube, and the tapeworm was expelled about 10 minutes later. The tapeworm was subsequently identified as Taenia asiatica by DNA sequencing.

With the number of foreign visitors to Japan continuing to increase, the number of patients with gastrointestinal parasitic diseases encountered in daily clinical practice is also expected to increase. Capsule endoscopy is effective in diagnosing gastrointestinal parasitic diseases. Also, subsequent identification of expelled tapeworms will allow for the monitoring of imported infectious diseases and emerging infectious diseases.