Ascariasis of the gall bladder. Report of two cases.

A radiological diagnosis of ascariasis of the gallbladder was made in two middle-aged women with high abdominal pain having biliary colic characteristics. In one case round worm was demonstrated by means of the intravenous cholangiography, but in the other the procedure was negative only the common bile duct being contrasted. Oral cholangiography made some days later permitted the visualization of the parasite in the gallbladder. The patients were treated by cholecistectomy and choledocostomy and the diagnosis was confirmed. The post-operative course was uneventful. There was Ascaris lumbricoides ova in the feces and the histological examination of the removed gallbladder showed large eosinophilic infiltration in both cases. The patients received levamisole some days after surgery.