A case of small bowel obstruction due to infection with Bolbosoma sp. (Acanthocephala: Polymorphidae)

Abstract A case of small bowel obstruction caused by Bolbosoma sp. infection is reported. A 27-year-old woman admitted with abdominal pain was diagnosed as small bowel obstruction. Laparoscopic surgery revealed induration in jejunum at ca. 120 cm distal to the ligament of Treiz, attributed to a band connecting the serosa to the ascending mesocolon. Resected band contained an acanthocephalan accompanying foreign body reaction with abscess formation. The parasite belonged to the genus Bolbosoma , of which identification was made by DNA sequence analysis. This is the eighth case of Bolbosoma infection in humans, and the first one causing an ileus.