A CASE OF STRONGYLOIDES INTESTINALIS WITH LARVÆ IN THE SPUTUM

Abstract

Although infection with Strongyloides intestinalis is by no means uncommon in the South, patients with larvæ in the stools being frequently observed by physicians, nevertheless the number of reported cases is not large and is not a true index of the prevalence of the disease. This is probably due to the fact that this parasite is usually considered harmless. In the case here reported the larvæ were discovered first in the sputum. The patient entered the hospital with a diagnosis of pneumonia. His temperature promptly dropped to normal but, because his general condition did not improve and because of impaired resonance and later expectoration, tuberculosis was suspected and his sputum examined. I saw the first larvæ while examining the fresh sputum, and thought they might be a contamination of some sort, because the patient had vomited that day and the sputum contained food particles and milk; but, on