Asymptomatic Colonic Anisakiasis: Is It So Rare?

Tetsuro Takasaki; Toru Yamada; Junji Kinoshita; Yasuaki Motomura

doi:10.1159/000508822

Asymptomatic Colonic Anisakiasis: Is It So Rare?

Case Rep Gastroenterol. 2020 Nov 2;14(3):593-597. doi: 10.1159/000508822. eCollection 2020 Sep-Dec.

Authors

Tetsuro Takasaki¹, Toru Yamada², Junji Kinoshita¹, Yasuaki Motomura¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gastroenterology, Tokyo Bay Urayasu Ichikawa Medical Center, Urayasu, Japan.
² Department of Family Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.

Abstract

Most cases of anisakiasis occur in the stomach. Colonic anisakiasis, especially when asymptomatic, is extremely rare. We report a case of asymptomatic colonic anisakiasis and present a literature review of cases of colonic anisakiasis. A 52-year-old man underwent colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening. Although no colorectal neoplasm was found, an Anisakis larva was detected in the transverse colon and the larva was removed by grasping forceps. Our review of PubMed revealed that 40% of cases of colonic anisakiasis are asymptomatic. We conclude that asymptomatic colonic anisakiasis may not be as rare as conventionally assumed.

Keywords: Adult; Anisakis; Case report; Colon; Colonoscopy.

Publication types

Case Reports