Cryptosporidiosis of the appendix vermiformis: a case report

The present case report describes a 30-year-old man with AIDS who developed cryptosporidiosis of the appendix vermiformis. The patient had been admitted to hospital with all the symptoms of appendicitis, and an appendectomy was performed. The histological work-up of the surgical specimen revealed an acute phlegmonous appendicitis, and also a welldeveloped cryptosporidiosis, which was confirmed by electron-microscopic examination. Two years later, the patient died of pneumonia contracted during a generalised CMV infection. The postmortem examination revealed cryptosporidial organisms in the biliary tract. As far as we know, this is the first ever report of cryptosporidiosis of the appendix vermiformis.