Cryptosporidium infection in a case of appendicitis

A 39-year-old Caucasian woman presented to the emergency department with worsening abdominal pain, localised to the right lower quadrant, and diarrhoea for a week. Stool tested negative for Clostridium difficile, Giardialamblia and Cryptosporidium Following an abdominal CT, she was diagnosed with appendicitis. The histological preparation, along with the acute inflammatory changes of the vermiform appendix, was notable for clusters of small, basophilic spherical bodies most consistent with Cryptosporidium parvum infection. Ultimately, the patient was diagnosed with appendicitis secondary to C. parvum infection. This is exceedingly rare and only one other case has been previously reported.