Taenia: An Uninvited Guest

Patient: Female, 55 Final Diagnosis: Taeniasis Symptoms: Abdominal pain • dyspepsia Medication: Omeprazole • Dicyclomine • Herb Clinical Procedure: Endoscopy Specialty: Gastroenterology OBJECTIVE: Rare presentation BACKGROUND: Taenia saginata and Taenia solium species are worldwide in distribution, causing bovine and porcine cysticercosis, and taeniasis in humans having the greatest economic and medical importance. CASE REPORT: A 55-year-old woman living in a village around Rasht (northern Iran) was referred to our hospital with a history of chronic abdominal pain and recent dyspepsia and epigastric fullness. According to her clinical history, she was a candidate for an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. A large tape worm was seen in the stomach. Our efforts at extracting it from the stomach were unsuccessful. The endoscope was withdrawn and therapy with niclosamide was initiated. At the next visit, her symptoms were alleviated and she was relieved from the chronic pain. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that the retrograde migration of the tapeworm into the stomach may be due to low gastric acidity as a result of atrophic gastritis and chronic proton pump inhibitor use.