Case of the Week 602

By Bobbi Pritt, M.D. • August 5, 2020

Share this:

This week's case was generously donated by Dr. Harsha Sheorey. The following object was submitted from a middle-aged man with hematuria. The specimen source is urine, and accompanying instructions asked the laboratory to rule out a fluke or cestode. The patient had traveled to Southeast Asia in the past. What's the identification? What are the clinical implications for this patient?

Read Dr. Pritt's blog, Parasite Wonders, and submit your answers, comments, and questions. Also, visit her website ParasiteWonders.com, which hosts an archive of classic images from cases Dr. Pritt posted going back to 2007 (in an easy-to-search "A through Z" format) and also offers a flashcard feature.

Answer to Case 602:

Insect larva, consistent with a member of the Psychodidae (drain/sewer fly) larva.

Bobbi Pritt, M.D.

Bobbi Pritt, MD, MSc, is a Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and the Director of the Clinical Parasitology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota. She is also the Chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology. Her research interests are in clinical parasitology, vector-borne diseases and the pathology of infectious diseases.