Case #210 - August, 2007
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A 32-year-old man went to his health care provider with complaints of bloating, intermittent diarrhea, and abdominal cramping. He stated he liked to go camping and hunting and sometimes consumed the fish and game that he caught. The man was asked to provide a stool specimen for testing. The laboratory that performed the testing made a wet mount after using a concentration procedure. Figures A and B show what was observed in low numbers on the slide. The objects ranged in size from 45 to 58 micrometers in diameter. What is your diagnosis? Based on what criteria?
Image A
Image B
Case Answer
The objects were artifacts (probably pollen) and a diagnosis was given of No Parasites Found (NPF). The objects could have been misidentified as helminth eggs. For instance, both Ascaris sp. and Taenia sp. eggs could be within the size range of these objects. However, lack of a striated shell ruled out Taenia sp. and the angular nature of exterior of the objects ruled out Ascaris and other helminth eggs.
More on: Artifacts
Images presented in the monthly case studies are from specimens submitted for diagnosis or archiving. On rare occasions, clinical histories given may be partly fictitious.
DPDx is an education resource designed for health professionals and laboratory scientists. For an overview including prevention and control visit www.cdc.gov/parasites/.
- Page last reviewed: August 24, 2016
- Page last updated: August 24, 2016
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- Global Health – Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria
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