Abdominal Calcifications in a Patient From the Congo Basin with History of Snake Meat Consumption: Radiographic Evidence of Prior Infection

We report a case of a 60-year-old asymptomatic male with history of consumption of uncooked snake meat while living in the Congo basin and prior imaging showing multiple abdominal calcifications. Patient had multiple subepithelial colonic lesions identified during screening colonoscopy and microscop...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rajarajeshwari Ramachandran MD, Vikash Kumar MD, Giovannie Isaac-Coss MD, Tiangui Huang MD, Sushma Venugopal MD
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2023-07-01
Series:Journal of Investigative Medicine High Impact Case Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/23247096231188249
Description
Summary:We report a case of a 60-year-old asymptomatic male with history of consumption of uncooked snake meat while living in the Congo basin and prior imaging showing multiple abdominal calcifications. Patient had multiple subepithelial colonic lesions identified during screening colonoscopy and microscopic examination of the lesions demonstrated a calcified nodule in the submucosa with overlying normal mucosa. However, no parasite was identified within the calcified nodule. Given the history of consumption of uncooked snake meat and the typical radiographic feature of multiple abdominal calcifications, it is very likely that the patient’s radiographic abnormalities are due to prior Armillifer armillatus infection, a parasitic infection acquired from consumption of uncooked snake meat. Patient was asymptomatic at the time of evaluation and was not given anti-parasitic treatment.
ISSN:2324-7096