Manifestation of leech infestation as severe hematemesis and melena in a 29‑year‑old man: A case report and review of the literature
Background Leeches are rarely the cause of foreign bodies in the airways and digestive tracts of adults. Most of the cases reported about the presence of leech as a foreign body in the respiratory and digestive tracts have been reported in children. We report a rare case of manifestation of leech in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Acta Oto-Laryngologica Case Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23772484.2025.2468718 |
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| author | Mohammad Ali Zakeri Majid Aghadavood Marnani Seyed Hamid Pakzad Moghadam Soheila Pourmasumi Xiao Xu Alaa Hamza Hermis Javed Iqbal Abdur Rehman |
| author_facet | Mohammad Ali Zakeri Majid Aghadavood Marnani Seyed Hamid Pakzad Moghadam Soheila Pourmasumi Xiao Xu Alaa Hamza Hermis Javed Iqbal Abdur Rehman |
| author_sort | Mohammad Ali Zakeri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Leeches are rarely the cause of foreign bodies in the airways and digestive tracts of adults. Most of the cases reported about the presence of leech as a foreign body in the respiratory and digestive tracts have been reported in children. We report a rare case of manifestation of leech infestation in a 29-year-old man.Methods and results We report the case who presented with hemoptysis and melena. The patient underwent an endoscopy, which revealed a leech in the lower end of the esophagus. In order to better investigate and understand the different dimensions of conflict with leeches, we investigated the cases reported in adults.Conclusion Leech contamination is one of the rare causes of gastrointestinal bleeding, especially in adults, which is due to non-compliance with health recommendations to drink safe drinking water or swim in ponds/or river water. A detailed history and clinical examination of the patient are essential for the diagnosis of leech bite in adult patients who live in or travel to tropical regions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fdc89d5e4f094a73a7bbc704848cacbb |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2377-2484 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Oto-Laryngologica Case Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-fdc89d5e4f094a73a7bbc704848cacbb2025-08-20T03:47:58ZengTaylor & Francis GroupActa Oto-Laryngologica Case Reports2377-24842025-12-01101263010.1080/23772484.2025.2468718Manifestation of leech infestation as severe hematemesis and melena in a 29‑year‑old man: A case report and review of the literatureMohammad Ali Zakeri0Majid Aghadavood Marnani1Seyed Hamid Pakzad Moghadam2Soheila Pourmasumi3Xiao Xu4Alaa Hamza Hermis5Javed Iqbal6Abdur Rehman7Social Determinants of Health Research Centre, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, IranDepartment of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, IranDepartment of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, IranClinical Research Development Unit, Ali-Ibn Abi-Talib Hospital, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, IranDepartment of Nursing, Nantong Health College of Jiangsu Province, Nantong, ChinaNursing College, Al-Mustaqbal University, Hillah, IraqNursing Department, Communicable Disease Center-Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, QatarRawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi, PakistanBackground Leeches are rarely the cause of foreign bodies in the airways and digestive tracts of adults. Most of the cases reported about the presence of leech as a foreign body in the respiratory and digestive tracts have been reported in children. We report a rare case of manifestation of leech infestation in a 29-year-old man.Methods and results We report the case who presented with hemoptysis and melena. The patient underwent an endoscopy, which revealed a leech in the lower end of the esophagus. In order to better investigate and understand the different dimensions of conflict with leeches, we investigated the cases reported in adults.Conclusion Leech contamination is one of the rare causes of gastrointestinal bleeding, especially in adults, which is due to non-compliance with health recommendations to drink safe drinking water or swim in ponds/or river water. A detailed history and clinical examination of the patient are essential for the diagnosis of leech bite in adult patients who live in or travel to tropical regions.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23772484.2025.2468718Gastrointestinal hemorrhagehematemesisleechesmelena |
| spellingShingle | Mohammad Ali Zakeri Majid Aghadavood Marnani Seyed Hamid Pakzad Moghadam Soheila Pourmasumi Xiao Xu Alaa Hamza Hermis Javed Iqbal Abdur Rehman Manifestation of leech infestation as severe hematemesis and melena in a 29‑year‑old man: A case report and review of the literature Acta Oto-Laryngologica Case Reports Gastrointestinal hemorrhage hematemesis leeches melena |
| title | Manifestation of leech infestation as severe hematemesis and melena in a 29‑year‑old man: A case report and review of the literature |
| title_full | Manifestation of leech infestation as severe hematemesis and melena in a 29‑year‑old man: A case report and review of the literature |
| title_fullStr | Manifestation of leech infestation as severe hematemesis and melena in a 29‑year‑old man: A case report and review of the literature |
| title_full_unstemmed | Manifestation of leech infestation as severe hematemesis and melena in a 29‑year‑old man: A case report and review of the literature |
| title_short | Manifestation of leech infestation as severe hematemesis and melena in a 29‑year‑old man: A case report and review of the literature |
| title_sort | manifestation of leech infestation as severe hematemesis and melena in a 29 year old man a case report and review of the literature |
| topic | Gastrointestinal hemorrhage hematemesis leeches melena |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23772484.2025.2468718 |
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