The journal published a case study of a 14-year-old boy who had lost over 22 litres of blood in a span of two years by the blood-sucking hookworms
A recent case study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases and Therapy by the Department of Gastroenterology at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital has revealed that hookworm manifestation can lead to immense loss of blood.
The journal published a case study of a 14-year-old boy who had lost over 22 litres of blood in a span of two years by the blood-sucking hookworms. If not diagnosed timely, the hookworms multiply and lead to immense blood loss and complications.
A 14-year-old boy was referred to the hospital about six months back with two episodes of the passage of blood with stool. The patient was suffering from iron-deficiency and Anemia since the last two years and was being transfused blood repeatedly. Over the course of two years, he had received 50 units i.e. 22 litres of blood.
"His diagnosis could not be established in spite of various repeated tests, including esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), Colonoscopy and radiographic studies of intestines done earlier and at our centre, all of which were normal. His hemoglobin was low at 5.86," said Dr Anil Arora, Chairperson, Department of Gastroenterology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
"In view of child's obscure (unknown origin) gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB), we conducted Capsule endoscopy. The results shocked us. We could see multiple hookworms buried in the small intestine and were seen actively sucking blood with dancing movements," he further added.
Capsule endoscopy is a procedure that uses a tiny wireless camera to take pictures of the digestive tract. A Capsule endoscopy camera sits inside a vitamin-sized capsule which is swallowed by the patient.
The endoscopy revealed the sucked blood in the cavity of hookworms giving them a red color. However, white colored hookworms, which had not yet sucked any blood, were seen lying quietly in the small bowel. After treatment, the child recovered and his hemoglobin increased to 11 gm/dl.
"Conventionally, hookworm infestation is found commonly in the Asian population. The manifestation of hookworms can be prevented by avoiding barefoot walking and maintenance of food hygiene," opined Dr Arora.
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