Pin Worms Presenting as Suspected Crohn’s Disease

Abstract

Patient: Female, 24Final Diagnosis: Pinworms infectionSymptoms: Abdominal pain • bloatingMedication: —Clinical Procedure: Colonoscopy and biopsySpecialty: Gastroenterology and HepatologyObjective:Rare diseaseBackground:Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is well recognized in developed countries and is generally among the differential diagnoses of young patients presenting with refractory diarrhea once other more common etiologies have been excluded. Pinworm infections, on the other hand, are not as common among adults in the United States.Case Report:Based on computed tomography features, a 24-year-old female patient with a history of multiple autoimmune disorders presented with abdominal pain and was diagnosed recently with Crohn’s disease. Colonoscopy was significant for pinworms seen throughout the colon. Colonic biopsy was negative for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-related changes.Conclusions:The diagnosis of IBD is a serious label that requires biopsy confirmation before committing to possibly lifelong treatment and possible adverse effects. Even in the most typical patient and when the presentation and imaging are classical, uncommon conditions (like Enterobius infection in this case) may preclude appropriate diagnosis and management.

Peripheral Eosinophilia Found in Pediatric Enterobius vermicularis Infections

“…Al-Saffar et al reported a 24-year-old female diagnosed with appendicitis with a link to an active case of E vermicularis with eosinophilia. 11 Another report by de Jong et al described a 32-year-old woman with chronic diarrhea found to have eosinophilic infiltration of her colonic mucosa as well as peripheral eosinophilia attributed to enterobiasis. 12 These 2 cases, although of adult patients, demonstrate a potential causal link between eosinophilia and pinworm infections.…”