A Fishy Tale of Macrocytosis
Diphyllobothriasis is a rare fish tapeworm infection, yet one of the most important fish-borne human diseases due to the high morbidity and commonly missed diagnosis. It occurs by ingesting infected uncooked fish. Several fish tapeworm species can affect humans, with the most prevalent of these bein...
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ftdalhouseuniv:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/5950 2023-05-15T15:05:38+02:00 A Fishy Tale of Macrocytosis Mocanu, Valentin Rebello, Rosario 2015-04-23 application/pdf https://ojs.library.dal.ca/DMJ/article/view/5950 https://doi.org/10.15273/dmj.Vol41No2.5950 eng eng Dalhousie University Libraries https://ojs.library.dal.ca/DMJ/article/view/5950/5281 https://ojs.library.dal.ca/DMJ/article/view/5950 doi:10.15273/dmj.Vol41No2.5950 DALHOUSIE MEDICAL JOURNAL; Vol 41, No 2 (2015) 1488-9994 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2015 ftdalhouseuniv https://doi.org/10.15273/dmj.Vol41No2.5950 2022-02-21T08:48:46Z Diphyllobothriasis is a rare fish tapeworm infection, yet one of the most important fish-borne human diseases due to the high morbidity and commonly missed diagnosis. It occurs by ingesting infected uncooked fish. Several fish tapeworm species can affect humans, with the most prevalent of these being Diphyllobothrium latum found in pike, perch, and arctic char. In humans, the worm attaches to the small bowel where it can live undetected for 10 to 15 years and can grow as long as 15 meters. While in the small bowel, it competes with the host for vitamin B12, leading to vitamin B12 deficiency and macrocytosis. The signs and symptoms of infestation are often vague and non-specific, making for a challenging diagnosis. Furthermore, physical examination and laboratory investigations are typically unremarkable. We describe only the fourth case report of D. latum in Canada. It occurred in an otherwise healthy patient with a two-year history of vague abdominal pain, diarrhea, low B12, and macrocytosis. The patient was an avid sushi eater and remained symptomatic and undiagnosed during this time. Spontaneous passage of the worm and treatment with praziquantel ultimately led to resolution of her symptoms. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Dalhousie University Libraries Journal Hosting Service Arctic Canada Dalhousie Medical Journal |
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Dalhousie University Libraries Journal Hosting Service |
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ftdalhouseuniv |
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English |
description |
Diphyllobothriasis is a rare fish tapeworm infection, yet one of the most important fish-borne human diseases due to the high morbidity and commonly missed diagnosis. It occurs by ingesting infected uncooked fish. Several fish tapeworm species can affect humans, with the most prevalent of these being Diphyllobothrium latum found in pike, perch, and arctic char. In humans, the worm attaches to the small bowel where it can live undetected for 10 to 15 years and can grow as long as 15 meters. While in the small bowel, it competes with the host for vitamin B12, leading to vitamin B12 deficiency and macrocytosis. The signs and symptoms of infestation are often vague and non-specific, making for a challenging diagnosis. Furthermore, physical examination and laboratory investigations are typically unremarkable. We describe only the fourth case report of D. latum in Canada. It occurred in an otherwise healthy patient with a two-year history of vague abdominal pain, diarrhea, low B12, and macrocytosis. The patient was an avid sushi eater and remained symptomatic and undiagnosed during this time. Spontaneous passage of the worm and treatment with praziquantel ultimately led to resolution of her symptoms. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mocanu, Valentin Rebello, Rosario |
spellingShingle |
Mocanu, Valentin Rebello, Rosario A Fishy Tale of Macrocytosis |
author_facet |
Mocanu, Valentin Rebello, Rosario |
author_sort |
Mocanu, Valentin |
title |
A Fishy Tale of Macrocytosis |
title_short |
A Fishy Tale of Macrocytosis |
title_full |
A Fishy Tale of Macrocytosis |
title_fullStr |
A Fishy Tale of Macrocytosis |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Fishy Tale of Macrocytosis |
title_sort |
fishy tale of macrocytosis |
publisher |
Dalhousie University Libraries |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://ojs.library.dal.ca/DMJ/article/view/5950 https://doi.org/10.15273/dmj.Vol41No2.5950 |
geographic |
Arctic Canada |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
DALHOUSIE MEDICAL JOURNAL; Vol 41, No 2 (2015) 1488-9994 |
op_relation |
https://ojs.library.dal.ca/DMJ/article/view/5950/5281 https://ojs.library.dal.ca/DMJ/article/view/5950 doi:10.15273/dmj.Vol41No2.5950 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.15273/dmj.Vol41No2.5950 |
container_title |
Dalhousie Medical Journal |
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1766337289757130752 |