A Case of Acute Pancreatitis Associated with Fasciola Hepatica / 대한소화기내시경학회지

ABSTRACT

Fascioliasis is a zoonotic helminthiasis caused by the trematode Fasciola hepatica, which is a parasite that infects the hepatobiliary system of herbivorous animals such as cattle and sheep. Humans are accidentally infected after ingestion of the water, raw aquatic plants and raw liver of herbivorous animals that are all contaminated by metacercaria. Fascioliasis produces no symptoms in most patients, but adult Fasciola hepatica occasionally gives rise to intestinal obstruction or pancreatobiliary disease. The metacercaria can migrate along the vessels or lymphatic ducts, and they can induce disease of the liver, lung and heart. We report here on a rare case of a 68-year-old male who presented with acute abdominal pain. He was diagnosed as acute pancreatitis associated with Fasciola hepatica.