A Case of Ocular Sparganosis in China: Episode of Migration from Muscle Cone to Subconjunctiva

Korean J Parasitol. 2022 Dec;60(6):419-421. doi: 10.3347/kjp.2022.60.6.419. Epub 2022 Dec 22.ABSTRACTTo improve our understanding of the migration of sparganum in humans, we report a case of ocular sparganosis having the migratory episode from the muscle cone to the subconjunctiva. A 34-year-old woman was admitted to the Hospital of Anhui Medical University (Hefei, China), in December 2019. She presented with conjunctival hemorrhage and recurrent pain in the left eye. A foreign body was found in the muscle cone of the eye. Two months later, a ribbon-like white material was found under the conjunctiva on slit-lamp examination. A long and slender, actively moving parasite was extracted by surgery. The extracted worm was approximately 8 cm long and 2 mm wide. The worm was whitish, wrinkled, ribbon shaped, and had a slightly enlarged scolex. The worm sample was morphologically identified as a plerocercoid larva (sparganum) of the Spirometra tapeworm. Her conjunctival blood suffusion and eye pain ceased within 1 week after operation. She has been in good health without any symptoms during the 2-year follow-up. A case of ocular sparganosis, in which larval worm migrated from the muscle cone to the subconjunctiva is reported from China.PMID:36588419 | PMC:PMC9806500 | DOI:10.3347/kjp.2022.60.6.419
Source: Korean Journal of Parasitology - Category: Parasitology Authors: Source Type: research