Published online Mar 16, 2018. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v10.i3.69
Peer-review started: July 16, 2017
First decision: January 15, 2018
Revised: January 20, 2018
Accepted: March 1, 2018
Article in press: March 1, 2018
Published online: March 16, 2018
Processing time: 63 Days and 22.8 Hours
We report a case of a 59-year-old woman who was diagnosed with gastric and small intestinal anisakiasis, which was successfully treated with endoscopic extraction and Gastrografin therapy. She was admitted to our hospital with epigastric pain and vomiting one day after eating raw fish. She exhibited tenderness in the epigastrium without obvious rebound tenderness or guarding. Computed tomography (CT) demonstrated segmental edema of the intestinal wall with proximal dilatation and a small number of ascites. Because enteric anisakiasis was suspected based on the patient’s history of recent raw fish consumption and abdominal CT, we performed gastroscopy and confirmed that nine Anisakis larvae were attached to the gastric mucosa. All of the Anisakis larvae were extracted via endoscopy, and the patient was diagnosed with gastric and enteric anisakiasis. Additionally, in the hospital, we performed ileography twice using Gastrografin, which led to shortened hospital stay. Based on the clinical results of this case, we suggest that Gastrografin therapy is a safe, convenient, and useful method to extract enteric Anisakis larvae.
Core tip: Enteric anisakiasis is difficult to diagnose due to a lack of definitive criteria, and there is currently no curative treatment. This case report describes two important clinical suggestions: (1) Abdominal computed tomography (CT) is useful for the diagnosis of enteric anisakiasis; and (2) Gastrografin administration is a safe, convenient, and useful therapy. In the case of intestinal anisakiasis, CT scan showed submucosal edema of the intestine with proximal dilatation and ascites. We performed ileography using Gastrografin to extract enteric Anisakis larvae after placing an ileus tube, which led to shortened hospital stay.