Small bowel ascariasis: A rare clinical entity in United States

Intestinal ascariasis is a helminthic disease which is uncommon in the United States; however, it is extremely prevalent in developing countries. It is caused by a helminth, Ascaris lumbricoides. Diagnosis of intestinal ascariasis can be made by ultrasound and has a characteristic appearance in the appropriate clinical setting. Sonographic signs for identification include target sign, triple-line sign, and four-line sign. Usually there is a history of travel or the patient maybe an immigrant. Small bowel obstruction is the most common complication, which needs surgical intervention. We report a rare case of small bowel ascariasis diagnosed with ultrasound in our practice in Connecticut.