A Case of Strongyloides Stercoralis Concurrently Invading the Stomach and Colon

M.D.Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Daejeon, KoreaStrongyloides stercoralis is a nematode that may involve any segment of the Gl tract or virtually every human organ because of its autoinfection cycle and hyperin-fection. It may occur in either immunocompetent or immunocompromised indivi-duals. A 72-year-old woman who had no notable medical history presented with chronic diarrhea and generalized edema and she revealed protein losing enete-ropathy. She was diagnosed with Strongyloidiasis infection through EGD and a colonoscopic biopsy specimen at a time when there were rhabditiform larvae present. The patient was treated with albendazole 400 mg/day for three days. At the follow-up three months later, the endoscopic biopsy specimens revealed no evidence of Strongyloidiasis infection and her clinical symptoms had progressively improved. The present case represents a rare report of Strongyloidiasis in a immunocompetent patient diagnosed through EGD and the colonoscopic biopsy specimen concurrently. So, we report on this case along with a review of the relevant literature.