Clinical and Endoscopic Features of Colonic Anisakiasis in Korea

To analyze the clinical and endoscopic features of colonic anisakiasis. A retrospective chart review of 20 patients with colonic anisakiasis, who were diagnosed by colonoscopy at 8 hospitals between January 2002 and December 2011, was performed. Patients' mean age was 53.6±10.74 years. Seventy percent patients were men. Acute abdominal pain was a common symptom that mostly developed within 48 hr after the ingestion of raw fish, and which lasted for 1-28 days. Sixty percent patients had ingested raw fish before the diagnosis of colonic anisakiasis and 40% patients were incidentally found to have colonic anisakiasis during the screening colonoscopies. Leukocytosis and eosinophilia were each found in 20% of the patients. In all patients who underwent colonoscopy, the worms were removed with biopsy forceps, except in 1 case, and a definite diagnosis of anisakiasis was made. In some cases of colonic anisakiasis, colonoscopy may be helpful in the diagnosis and treatment to avoid surgical intervention.