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Monthly Case Studies [Last Modified: ]

Case 27
A 50-year-old historian from Boston lived in several coastal villages in Japan for six months.  His diet consisted mainly of seafood, including sushi and crab.  He ran out of his usual pipe tobacco after two months and began smoking local varieties.  After three to four months in Japan, he occasionally noticed small brownish specks in his sputum.  After returning to Boston, he had a physical examination at a local hospital that included a stool examination.  The following images were captured from a wet preparation of a formalin-ethyl acetate concentration of his stool specimen (Figures A and B, 200×).  The size of both objects was approximately 93 micrometers by 49 micrometers.  What is your diagnosis?  Based on what criteria?

Case 27 Image A Cae 27 Image B
A B

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Case 28
Two couples attended a business conference in Florida for one week.  They shared supper meals catered by the hotel, but ate separate lunches outside the hotel.  One week after their trip, both couples sought medical attention for abdominal cramping and diarrhea.  Both couples submitted stool specimens.  The following composite images are from acid-fast smears of formalin-ethyl acetate concentrations of those specimens.  The first couple are patients 1 and 2, and the second couple are patients 3 and 4.  What is your diagnosis?  Based on what criteria?

Case 28 Image A Case 28 Image B
A B

 

Case 28 Image C Case 28 Image D
C D

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