Fatal Case of a Child Harboring <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i>
<i>Enterobius vermicularis</i> is a threadlike parasite also known as “pinworms”. It is the most common helminth infection, affecting the gastrointestinal tracts of children worldwide, although it seldom causes any fatalities. <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i> infections are usu...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/6/917 |
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| author | Samia T. Al-Shouli Mazin Barry Khalifa Binkhamis Nourah AlHogail Nouf Omar Alafaleq Osman Adamu Dufailu Khaldoon Aljerian |
| author_facet | Samia T. Al-Shouli Mazin Barry Khalifa Binkhamis Nourah AlHogail Nouf Omar Alafaleq Osman Adamu Dufailu Khaldoon Aljerian |
| author_sort | Samia T. Al-Shouli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i> is a threadlike parasite also known as “pinworms”. It is the most common helminth infection, affecting the gastrointestinal tracts of children worldwide, although it seldom causes any fatalities. <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i> infections are usually asymptomatic and may only cause anal pruritis, with occasional reported cases of ectopic migration into the appendix or the female genital tract by adult pinworms. Here, we report a case of a 15-year-old girl who presented to the emergency department with high-grade fever, vomiting, and vague abdominal pain for three days. She was diagnosed with acute abdominal pain and underwent emergency ileocecectomy, but died the following day. Pathological examination of ileocecal junction showed intraluminal and intramural <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i>, which were attributed as the cause of her death in the absence of any other pathologies. Death due to <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i> is rare; this case calls for clinicians to be vigilant in exploring <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i> infections in patients with undiagnosed acute abdominal pain, since it could be a potential cause of death. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:29:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f66c776e908a4f058f4b348d5af28c9e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:29:36Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-f66c776e908a4f058f4b348d5af28c9e2023-11-17T11:22:09ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322023-03-0111691710.3390/healthcare11060917Fatal Case of a Child Harboring <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i>Samia T. Al-Shouli0Mazin Barry1Khalifa Binkhamis2Nourah AlHogail3Nouf Omar Alafaleq4Osman Adamu Dufailu5Khaldoon Aljerian6Immunology Unit, Pathology Department, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 12372, Saudi ArabiaInfectious Disease Unit, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 12372, Saudi ArabiaMedical Microbiology Unit, Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 12372, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 12372, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Biochemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 12372, Saudi ArabiaFaculty of Engineering and Science, University of Greenwich, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UKForensic Medicine Unit, Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 12372, Saudi Arabia<i>Enterobius vermicularis</i> is a threadlike parasite also known as “pinworms”. It is the most common helminth infection, affecting the gastrointestinal tracts of children worldwide, although it seldom causes any fatalities. <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i> infections are usually asymptomatic and may only cause anal pruritis, with occasional reported cases of ectopic migration into the appendix or the female genital tract by adult pinworms. Here, we report a case of a 15-year-old girl who presented to the emergency department with high-grade fever, vomiting, and vague abdominal pain for three days. She was diagnosed with acute abdominal pain and underwent emergency ileocecectomy, but died the following day. Pathological examination of ileocecal junction showed intraluminal and intramural <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i>, which were attributed as the cause of her death in the absence of any other pathologies. Death due to <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i> is rare; this case calls for clinicians to be vigilant in exploring <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i> infections in patients with undiagnosed acute abdominal pain, since it could be a potential cause of death.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/6/917pinwormsenterobiasis<i>Enterobius vermicularis</i>undiagnosed abdominal pain |
| spellingShingle | Samia T. Al-Shouli Mazin Barry Khalifa Binkhamis Nourah AlHogail Nouf Omar Alafaleq Osman Adamu Dufailu Khaldoon Aljerian Fatal Case of a Child Harboring <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i> Healthcare pinworms enterobiasis <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i> undiagnosed abdominal pain |
| title | Fatal Case of a Child Harboring <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i> |
| title_full | Fatal Case of a Child Harboring <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i> |
| title_fullStr | Fatal Case of a Child Harboring <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fatal Case of a Child Harboring <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i> |
| title_short | Fatal Case of a Child Harboring <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i> |
| title_sort | fatal case of a child harboring i enterobius vermicularis i |
| topic | pinworms enterobiasis <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i> undiagnosed abdominal pain |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/6/917 |
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