Vol. 2, Issue 10, Part C (2016)

Methods: A study of 72 patients who had undergone colonoscopy for a period of 5 years from November 2009 to October 2014 was carried out inorder to find out the presence of parasitic worms during colonoscopy in these patients.

Results: Out of these 72 patients, parasitic worm was found in the colon in only one patient. The parasitic worm found in this patient was identified as whipworm or trichuris trichiura by its characteristic whip like shape. It has a short posterior thick part resembling the short handle of the whip and a long, thin anterior part resembling the distal long, thin part of the whip. But the stool examination of the patient was negative for ova or cyst.

Conclusion: Usually whipworm infection is diagnosed by finding its ova or eggs in stool examination. But sometimes adult whipworms are found while doing colonoscopy even when the stool examination is negative for its eggs. Hence colonoscopy is a very useful investigation to diagnose whipworm infection especially when the stool examination is negative for its eggs.