ABSTRACT
Four cases with Capillaria philippinensis have been reported from Egypt during 1989-1992. The authors report here four other cases of severe diarrhoea caused by this parasite. A male and three female patients aged 12-45 years presented with severe diarrhoea of 1-7 months duration associated with vomiting and central abdominal colics. Stools were yellowish or greenish and voluminous. Anorexia was profound with loss of weight. Bilateral painless ankle oedema developed early in the course of the disease and two cases had ascites and bilateral pleural effusion at presentation. There was hyponatraemia, hypocalcaemia and marked hypokalaemia and hypoalbulinaemia. Small bowel series showed a rapid transit time in 3 cases and malabsorption pattern in one. Duodenal biopsies showed non-specific chronic inflammation while jejunal biopsies from one case revealed grade II villous atrophy with moderate cellular infiltration of lamina propria. The infection was diagnosed by finding the eggs, larvae and adult worms of C. philippinensis in stool. Patients were treated with mebendazole 400 mg/day in two divided doses for 28 days in addition to high protein diet and correction of electrolyte disturbance. Vomiting stopped on the second day of treatment, appetite improved and diarrhoea regressed by the fourth day. Unfortunately, one case died two days after admission due to marked hypokalaemia. Clinico-pathological and epidemiological aspects of this infection in Egypt are discussed.
Subject(s)
Capillaria/isolation & purification , Diarrhea/parasitology , Enoplida Infections/parasitology , Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/parasitology , Adult , Animals , Child , Egypt/epidemiology , Enoplida Infections/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/epidemiology , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Seven new cases of intestinal capillariasis were detected in Kasr El-Aini University Hospitals, Cairo, during the period from July 1997 to June 1998. A parasitological study concerning the morphological features of Capillaria philippinensis recovered from the stool of Egyptian cases was carried out. Eggs were separated, cultured and used to infect Oreochromis nilotica niloticus, a famous popularly consumed type of fresh water fish in Egypt in a trial for identification of the fish intermediate host for this parasite, but infection had not developed in the intestine of this species of fish.
