Iatrogenic Trichuris suis infection in a patient with Crohn disease.

Kradin, Richard L; Badizadegan, Kamran; Auluck, Pavan; Korzenik, Joshua; Lauwers, Gregory Y · Arch Pathol Lab Med · 2006

case_report · Level V

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Abstract

We report a case of biopsy-proven iatrogenic infection by the pig whipworm Trichuris suis in a patient with Crohn disease. The deliberate therapeutic ingestion of T suis ova has been adopted as an experimental approach to the treatment of Crohn disease in an effort to promote a switch from the T helper subtype 1 to T helper subtype 2 inflammatory phenotype in vivo. This report examines the morphology of the immature and adult T suis, the effects of this intervention on the immunophenotype of the bowel mucosa, and it also raises the possibility of persistent active infection in man.

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