Ascariasis in an Adolescent With AIDS

Abstract

A 17-year-old girl, vertically infected with HIV, was repeatedly admitted in the AIDS unit for the past 12 months with abdominal pain, nausea, recurrent hyperamylasemia, diarrhea, and severe dehydration. Her serum electrolytes, especially potassium, were disproportionately low considering the losses. The patient was on highly active antiretroviral treatment with poor compliance due to her GI symptoms. The CD4/CD8 was 0.1 and the viral load was 100,000 vc/mL. Renal and adrenal functions were normal, repeated stool cultures and stool examinations for parasites were negative. Upper and lower endoscopies were normal, whereas biopsies from upper and lower GI tracts revealed mild eosinophilic infiltration. Due to the persistence of symptoms, investigation of the small bowel was performed by endoscopic capsule, which revealed a picture compatible with ascariasis ( Fig.

Measurement of Gastrointestinal and Colonic Motor Functions in Humans and Animals

“… 30 , 31 Thus, an outline of the total stomach volume visualized after ingestion of a liquid meal (that serves as a contrast medium) 32 has been applied in adolescents and compared with simultaneously measured gastric volumes by SPECT. 33 …”