Chapter 23: Lecture 5

Tapeworms

also called a cestode

a flat, segmented, parasitichelminth

s/s: usually asymptomatic; nausea, vomit, abdominal pain, weight loss, diarrhea

cause: Taenia saginata, beef tapeworm; taenis solium, pork tapeworm

get from eating raw or uncooked meat that have cysticeri

Dx by presence of proglottids in fecal samples after 3 months

Treat: one time dose of niclosamide or praziquantel

use surgery to remove tapeworms if they block the intestine

Pinworms

long, thin, unsegmented, cylindrical helminth-taper at each end

s/s: intense perianal itching, irritability, sleep disturbances from the itching, with weight loss

cause: Enterobius vermicularis

females move from colon to anus at night

lay eggs at anus and causes itching

when the person itches it releases the eggs and it gets everywhere causing spreading and re-infestation

Dx by identification of eggs or adult pinworm's

Treat: with pyrantel pamoate or meberdazole followed by a second treatment 2 weeks after

requires strict personal hygiene and whole house

Anisakiasis

results from infestation by sexual parasitic nematodes

s/s: typically asymptomatic; some feel larvae in mouth and throat; nausea, abdominal pain, vomit, and fever

common cause: Anisakis simplex-parasite

Dx generally made by using endoscopy to visualize worms

Treat: involves removing worms from intestine with forceps

Prevent by avoiding raw and under-cooked marine fish