Hookworm Infection Diagnosed by Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy: —Report of Two Cases with Review of the Literature

We report here on two cases of hookworm infection diagnosed by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy instead of traditional stool examination for ova. The first case, an 87-year-old male patient, presented with severe iron-deficiency anemia and a panendoscopy revealed several thin worms in the gastric antrum and duodenal bulb. The second case, a 64-year-old female patient, suffered from epigastralgia and a panendoscopy revealed a few thin worms in the duodenal bulb; further investigation revealed a pancreatic tumor and the patient died of this malignancy. In both cases, the worms were removed by biopsy forceps, and were identified as being Necator americanus from their characteristic morphology. (Dig Endosc 1994; 6 : 66–72)