Nasopharyngeal myiasis during mechanical ventilation

Abstract

We report a case of myiasis caused by Phaenicia sericata during mechanical ventilation. An 86-year-old woman with bronchiectasis was admitted to our hospital with severe respiratory failure. Treatment with mechanical ventilation and sedatives was initiated. On the 10th day of hospitalization, about 20 white larvae were found in the patient's oral or nasal cavities. The larvae were removed and identified as Phaenicia sericata. No mucosal injury was found in the patient's oral or nasal cavity by endoscopic examination. The patient died of multiple organ failure caused by sepsis that had no association with myiasis. From the clinical course and the fly's life cycle, it is considered that the fly laid eggs in the patient's oral or nasal cavity while she was sedated during mechanical ventilation. Myiasis can occur even in a hospital.