Case #155 – May, 2005
An 8-year-old boy complained of bloating and intermittent diarrhea, and he told his mother he had passed a worm when he went to the bathroom. They went to a physician and reported that the boy had a history of chronic stomach problems and gastrointestinal reflux. No travel history or date of symptom onset was given. The physician ordered an ova and parasite (O & P) examination. A stool specimen was collected at a local medical facility and submitted for testing. Figures A and B show objects that were seen on a wet mount smear, at 100× and 200× magnification respectively, from an FEA concentration performed at the California State Department of Health Services laboratory. What is your diagnosis? Based on what criteria?
Figure A
Figure B
This case was kindly contributed by the California State Department of Health Services laboratory.
Images presented in the DPDx case studies are from specimens submitted for diagnosis or archiving. On rare occasions, clinical histories given may be partly fictitious.
DPDx is an educational resource designed for health professionals and laboratory scientists. For an overview including prevention, control, and treatment visit www.cdc.gov/parasites/.