Acute shock caused by Clonorchis sinensis infection: a case report.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Clonorchiasis, caused by Clonorchis sinensis (C. sinensis) infection, is a serious food-borne zoonotic disease that is often asymptomatic or shows only mild symptoms, which leads to delayed treatment and chronic clonorchiasis and results in various complications, such as cholelithiasis, cholangitis, cholecystitis and cholangiocarcinoma. However, acute shock caused by C. sinensis infection has not been reported. Here, for the first time, we describe a fatal case of acute shock caused by C. sinensis infection.

CASE PRESENTATION:

A patient with a history of eating raw or undercooked freshwater fish was hospitalized with acute shock caused by severe abdominal pain. Physical examination suggested acute abdomen with severe abdominal pain and rigidity. Computed tomography (CT) detection indicated acute cholecystitis and cholelithiasis. After cholecystectomy, several liver flukes were found in the drainage tube. Furthermore, morphological analysis and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) identified the pathogen as C. sinensis. The liver gradually restored normal function after anthelmintic therapy with praziquantel.

CONCLUSIONS:

In this fatal case, C. sinensis infection was the cause of acute shock, which is rarely found in the clinic environment. This report aims to increase awareness of the hazards and complications related to clonorchiasis. The PCR diagnosis method used in this report might be helpful in reducing the misdiagnosis of clonorchiasis and unnecessary cholecystectomy.

• Authors: Nan Wang, Bin Tang, Yuhua Hao, Xue Bai, Xuelin Wang, Yuxiang Li, Yong Yang, Shicun Li, Shuo Hao, Xinyu Wang, Mingyuan Liu, Xiaolei Liu
• Journal: BMC infectious diseases (BMC Infect Dis) Vol. 19 Issue 1 Pg. 1014 (Nov 29 2019) ISSN: 1471-2334 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 31783809 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• DNA, Protozoan

Topics

• Abdominal Pain (etiology)
• Acute Disease
• Animals
• Clonorchiasis (complications, diagnosis, parasitology)
• Clonorchis sinensis (genetics, isolation & purification)
• DNA, Protozoan (genetics, metabolism)
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Shock (diagnosis, etiology)
• Tomography, X-Ray Computed