Patient N.V.T. (born in 1977, residing in Mau A commune, Lao Cai province) came for examination of parasites with a deep hole-like injury on his arm.
The patient came to the hospital with his family in a state of alertness, no fever, no itching, no pain. 2 lesions appeared on the left arm.
According to the patient's sharing, he and his family have been working as cinnamon peelers in Lao Cai for more than 20 years. The work requires them to go to the forest regularly, in which the patient has a habit of bathing in streams and drinking stream water.
In recent days, the patient has developed swelling, burning, itching and pain in his left arm. Then, a white pimple appeared on his forearm. The patient was supported by his family to remove a worm more than 20 cm long, but the worm was severed. After that, the family took the patient to Dang Van Ngu Hospital for examination.
Doctors examined and performed ultrasound. The results showed that in the position of 1/3 of the left forearm, corresponding to the suspected area of clinical injury, there was a lightly thick subcutaneous layer image. The thickness of the subcutaneous layer on the left side was about 6-8 mm, while in the same position in the right forearm it was about 1.3 mm; and there was also an infrasound image spreading in the middle 1/3 of the left forearm.
Currently, the patient no longer has itching. The left forearm area still has swelling and 2 lesions related to the process of removing dragon worms from the body.
There are no disease detection tests before worms emerge
Dr. Tran Van Tho - Director of Dang Van Ngu Hospital said: There is currently no testing method to help determine whether a patient is infected with dragon worms before symptoms appear. Patients are usually only detected to have the disease when adult worms move and crawl out through the skin.
Currently, there is also no specific drug for dragon worm disease. The main treatment method being applied is to remove all worms from the patient's body.
Worms tend to move out of the body through the skin area. In some cases, worms do not crawl out but die under the skin.
Doctors recommend that patients not arbitrarily use drugs, injections or surgery to remove worms. When dragon worms are detected, they need to go to a medical facility for guidance and proper treatment.
In particular, do not arbitrarily pull or break worms, because when worms are broken, the internal components can release, increasing inflammatory reactions and the risk of infection in the injured area.
The process of removing worms from the body also needs to ensure hygiene, avoiding discharge of fluids and components related to worms into the environment, limiting the risk of infection in the community.
According to a report from the Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Malariology - Parasitology - Entomology, from 2020 to now, Vietnam has recorded 43 cases of arrow worm disease. With the new case received by Dang Van Ngu Hospital, the total number of cases recorded is 44.
The disease mainly appears in the northern mountainous provinces, of which Lao Cai recorded 26 cases, Phu Tho 14 cases and Thanh Hoa 3 cases. Most patients are men.
Although the mortality rate from earthworm disease is very low, damage caused by worms can cause patients pain, weakness and leave long-term effects.
If not treated properly, wounds caused by dragon worms can be infected. Severe cases can lead to blood infections, joint infections, abscesses, tetanus, cellulomytis, joint deformities and even life-threatening.
