A 34-year-old white male chef and butcher had a 3 year history
of epigastric pain and passing active flat worms about 2.54 cm
long in his stool. He passed a segment of worm 61 cm long 1
year before this examination. His weight had remained
unchanged despite a more substantial ingestion of food
secondary to an increased appetite. He had formerly been a cow
slaughterer and worked for an employer who had a tapeworm.
In additon, the patient had a habit of chewing raw beef while working. He was treated for tapeworms twice previously without lasting successful results. Physical examination revealed a white blood cell count of 5,00/mI with 7%
eosinophils. Stool examination was positve for both eggs and
proglottids of Taenia saginata.
A plain film of the abdomen revealed a striking linear density
within a gas-containing midabdominal smal bowel loop
An upper gastrointestinal series was unremarkable. Small bowel
examination cleanly outlined an intraluminal, esentialy contin- uous linear fillng defect in the distal jejunum and ileum
extending into the proximal descending colon with no
opacification of the worm’s intestinal tract.
The patient was treated with 1 g of atabrine in 20 ml of water administered via a duodenal tube. The patient passed a 2.4 m
length of tapeworm 1 Y 2 hr later, but no scolex was recovered on
stool examination. Unfortunately, the patient was lost
to follow-up.