[Cholestasis caused by Fasciola hepatica]

Human infestation with Fasciola hepatica is observed occasionally. Cholestasis due to parasitic obstruction of the common duct is an infrequent complication. A case of fascioliasis is described in a 56 year-old male with symptoms of biliary colic and biochemical cholestasis. The diagnosis was based on the indirect hemagglutination test and the evidence of Fasciola hepatica in the extrahepatic biliary tract shown by ultrasound and ERCP. The patient presented an acute pancreatic reaction during an attempt at therapeutic endoscopic sphincterotomy. Medical treatment was initiated then with Bithionol. Cholestasis as well as the parasitosis were eliminated. Recovery was demonstrated by the normality of the titres of hemagglutination and of the biliary tract by ERCP.