LAUSR

unhelpful in diagnosing intestinal schistosomiasis, as they may only show non-specific thickening of the colon. It is also interesting to note that most acute intestinal schistosomiasis infections are localized to the descending or sigmoid colon, and this may have been a contributing factor to why our finding of caecal thickening with local lymphatic invasion may have been misdiagnosed on CT as caecal malignancy. Management of all forms of schistosomiasis infection has classically been praziquantel which is effective against all schistosome species. Management for acute intestinal colitis also centres around oral praziquantel with surgical management reserved for patients with acute intestinal complications such as perforation, bleeding polyps or obstruction. There are a few cases of schistosomiasis mimicking colon cancer; however, these were all discovered during colonoscopy and presented as large polyps rather than a caecal thickening. At this point in time, we are unaware of any other cases of intestinal schistosomiasis being surgically resected without preceding complications such as bleeding, obstruction or perforation. In conclusion, intestinal schistosomiasis is an uncommon cause for abdominal pain but one with life-threatening complications. Diagnosis is often difficult in the acute setting with a stool sample being the gold standard and imaging modalities of limited value. Oral praziquantel is the mainstay of management for intestinal schistosomiasis unless there are acute intestinal complications such as bleeding, obstruction or perforation. This case report, however, demonstrates surgical management is a viable and safe option for intestinal schistosomiasis and if performed should be undertaken in conjunction with oral medical therapy to ensure systemic eradication.