Please review the clinical case from the previous post with chief complaint of “Yellow Urine”

Answer below (after clicking on link)…

Schistosomiasis!

This was a case of endemic Schistosoma hematobium infection, which is a parasite that is common in Egypt and affects many individuals in rural areas within this region. The organism causes chronic hematuria through the intermittent release of spiny eggs within the bladder.

This infection also increases the risk of bladder cancer over time. When infected at a young age, many of these people are used to urinating blood and in fact have never seen normal colored urine (infection tends to affect groups of people who are around/near freshwater lakes and streams).

It’s likely that this patient was given 1-2 oral doses of praziquantel while he was hospitalized for his cholecystitis. This is enough to eradicate the infection. I thought this was an interesting chief complaint from a patient–hope you enjoyed the case!

Please see the Life Cycle of Schistosoma (Source CDC Website)