The n e w e ng l a n d j o u r na l of m e dic i n e

Images in Clinical Medicine

Lindsey R. Baden, M.D., Editor

Taenia saginata Infestation

A B

10 cm

C D

1 cm 1 mm

A
38-year-old man presented with worsening abdominal pain, Jian Li, Ph.D.
vomiting, anorexia, generalized weakness, and weight loss that had begun Eping Guo, B.S.Med.
3 days earlier. He had a history of eating raw beef. During the previous Hubei University of Medicine
2 years, he had been seen by several different doctors and had been given clinical Shiyan, China
treatment for stomachache, abdominal pain, and chronic anemia. Physical examina- thgep1962@163.com
tion was largely unremarkable. Microscopic examination of stool showed an em-
bryonated egg containing an oncosphere (Panel A). The patient was treated with
praziquantel, administered orally at a dose of 60 mg per kilogram of body weight;
approximately 40 minutes later, he received mannitol as a catharsis drug, admin-
istered orally at a dose of 300 ml in 20% aqueous solution. Two and one half hours
after the administration of mannitol, the patient discharged a tapeworm that mea-
sured 6.2 m excluding the scolex (Panel B, arrow). A gravid proglottid was identi-
fied, with at least 23 lateral uterine branches on each side (Panel C) and a distinct
genital pore containing a vaginal sphincter (Panel D, arrow). The patient received
a diagnosis of Taenia saginata (beef tapeworm) infection. Humans become infected
with T. saginata by ingesting cysticerci during consumption of raw or inadequately
cooked beef. The tapeworm attaches to the small intestine and can grow to be sev-
eral meters in length. Humans are the only definitive hosts. At a follow-up visit
3 months later, the patient was asymptomatic, with recovery of appetite and weight.
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMicm1504801
Copyright 2016 Massachusetts Medical Society.

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