Bowel x-ray alterations in acute human schistosomiasis.

A radiological study o f the small intestine o f 17 untreated patients in the acute phase ofschistosomiasis was performed. Twelve patients (70% o f total) had alterations: nine had clear-cut thickening o f the duodenal and jejunal folds, one flocculation, one fragmentation and one thickening o f mucosae, flocculation and fragmentation o f the barium column. There was no correlation o f the gastrointestinal symptomatology (vomiting, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatomegaly) neither with the parasitological load nor with the x-ray alterations.