Colitis y absceso hepático amebiano sin antecedentes epidemiológicos

Abstract

Amoebiasis is a parasitic infection caused by the intestinal protozoan Entamoeba histolytica. Globally, an estimated 40 million people are infected annually, although these estimates are confounded by the inclusion of the morphologically identical but non-pathogenic species such as Entamoeba dispar. Infection with E. histolytica occurs when mature cysts are ingested, usually through fecally contaminated food or water, more frequently in the developing world. When the parasite reaches the small intestine, excystation occurs, releasing trophozoites that then penetrate the colonic mucosa. Clinical features of symptomatic amoebic infection may include blood and mucus in diarrheal stools, which are phenotypes of dysentery; in some cases, the parasite invades the liver and forms abscesses that can occur months or years after traveling to or residing in a geographic region where amoebiasis is endemic. Amebic liver abscesses are the most common site of extraintestinal infection, occurring in less than 1% of E. histolytica infections. In this sense, this work seeks to establish cases of colitis and amoebic liver abscess without determined epidemiological history in the IESS Ambato Hospital, Ambato, Ecuador in order to establish appropriate diagnostic methodology and establish the corresponding health protocols. The data obtained showed that male patients had a higher incidence (66.31% of the cases studied), and the most affected age group was between 40 and 49 years of age. The diagnosis could have been obtained at times less than 10 days, but in some cases, it reached more than 30 days.