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© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Enterobius vermicularis 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. Enterobius vermicularis 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 Enterobius vermicularis, which were attributed as the cause of her death in the absence of any other pathologies. Death due to Enterobius vermicularis is rare; this case calls for clinicians to be vigilant in exploring Enterobius vermicularis infections in patients with undiagnosed acute abdominal pain, since it could be a potential cause of death.

Details

Title
Fatal Case of a Child Harboring Enterobius vermicularis
Author
Al-Shouli, Samia T 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Mazin, Barry 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Khalifa Binkhamis 3 ; AlHogail, Nourah 4 ; Nouf Omar Alafaleq 5   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Osman Adamu Dufailu 6   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Aljerian, Khaldoon 7   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Immunology Unit, Pathology Department, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 12372, Saudi Arabia 
 Infectious Disease Unit, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 12372, Saudi Arabia 
 Medical Microbiology Unit, Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 12372, Saudi Arabia 
 College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 12372, Saudi Arabia 
 Department of Biochemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 12372, Saudi Arabia 
 Faculty of Engineering and Science, University of Greenwich, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK 
 Forensic Medicine Unit, Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 12372, Saudi Arabia 
First page
917
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
22279032
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2791645656
Copyright
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.