Four Cases of Trichuris Trichiura Infection in the Colon / 대한소화기내시경학회지

ABSTRACT

Trichuris trichiura (whipworm) is a ubiquitous parasite that resides in the human intestinal tract, and it is known as whipworm because of its whip-like appearance. Trichuriasis is rare in developed countries, but it is more prevalent in tropical countries and areas with suboptimal sanitation. In most patient, whipworm infection is asymtomatic but patient with heavy infection present with anemia, diarrhea, trichuris dysentery syndrome, abdominal pain, weight loss, appendicitis and rectal prolapse. It is characterized by the invasion of the colonic mucosa by the adult Trichuris and produces minor inflammatory changes at the sites of localization. Its diagnosis is usually made by identification of football-shaped eggs in the stool or by confirming adult whipworm during colonoscopy. We report four cases of whipworm infection that were incidentally diagnosed on colonoscopy.