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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffIn heavy infestations, it's possible to find worms after you cough or vomit, and the worms can come out of other body openings, such as your mouth or nostrils. If this happens to you, take the worm to your doctor so that he or she can identify it and prescribe the proper treatment.
Stool tests
About two months after you ingest ascariasis eggs, the worms mature and begin laying thousands of eggs a day. These eggs travel through your digestive system and eventually can be found in your stool. To diagnose ascariasis, your doctor will examine your stool for the microscopic eggs and larvae. But eggs will not appear in stool until at least 40 days after you are infected. And if you are only infected with male worms, you won't have any eggs at all.
Blood tests
Your blood can be tested for the presence of an increased number of a certain type of white blood cell, called eosinophils. Ascariasis can elevate your eosinophils, but so can several other types of health problems.
Imaging tests
- X-rays. If you are infested with a large number of worms, the mass of worms may be visible in an X-ray of your abdomen. In some cases, a chest X-ray can reveal the larvae in your lungs.
- Ultrasound. An ultrasound may show if any worms are in your pancreas or liver. This technology uses sound waves to create images of internal organs.
- CT scans or MRIs. Both these types of tests create detailed images of your internal structures, so they can detect worms that are blocking ducts in your liver or pancreas. Computerized tomography (CT) combines X-ray images taken from many different angles, while magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses radio waves and a strong magnetic field.
- Maguire JH. Intestinal nematodes (roundworms). In: Mandell GL, et al. Mandell, Douglas and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..00287-3&displayedEid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..00287-3--s0010&uniq=173908408&isbn=978-0-443-06839-3&sid=924114946#lpState=closed&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..00287-3%3Btype%3DbookPage%3Bisbn%3D978-0-443-06839-3%3BdisplayedEid%3D4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..00287-3--s0010. Accessed Nov. 25, 2009.
- Leder K, et al. Ascariasis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 25, 2009.
- Weller PF, et al. Pulmonary manifestations of ascariasis. http://uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 25, 2009.
- Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura. Bad Bug Book: Foodborne pathogenic microorganisms and natural toxins handbook. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FoodborneIllness/FoodborneIllnessFoodbornePathogensNaturalToxins/BadBugBook/ucm070828.htm. Accessed Dec. 1, 2009.
- Parasites and health: Ascariasis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Ascariasis.htm. Accessed Dec. 1, 2009.
- Ascariasis. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2010. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/173908408-11/924114946/2088/66.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05609-0..00010-1--sc0290_1245. Accessed Dec. 1, 2009.
- Bedell DA, et al. Ascariasis. In: Rakel RE. Textbook of Family Medicine. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/174032189-3/924486535/1481/300.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2467-5..50029-4--cesec6_1353. Accessed Dec. 2, 2009.
- Steckelberg JM (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dec. 3, 2009.
- Neurological diagnostic tests and procedures. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/misc/diagnostic_tests.htm. Accessed Dec. 2, 2009.
- Ascaris infection (Ascariasis). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/ascaris/factsht_ascaris.htm. Accessed Dec. 2, 2009.
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