Heart failure secondary to severe anemia from oropharyngeal leech infestation: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Leeches can rarely act as blood-sucking endoparasites. The major ways to acquire leeches are swimming in streams, ponds, and drinking contaminated water. CASE PRESENTATION: In this case, a 5-year-old female patient presented with nasal bleeding, hematemesis, and melena of two weeks' duration. She has a history of drinking water from streams and ponds. She has easy fatiguability and is unable to play as usual for a one-week duration. DISCUSSION: Leech infestation is described as an important source of hemorrhage and subsequent anemia, particularly in children. Leeches can feed on a volume of blood nearly 10 times their body weight. This happens after adhering and piercing the host's mucosa, a process that is painless owing to a local anesthetic released in the leech's saliva. They get access to the human body either by drinking unfiltered water or through the natural orifices of individuals who swim, play, or bathe in contaminated water. Due to this method of spread, nearly all cases have been reported from developing countries where access to and use of safe water is limited, particularly in rural areas. CONCLUSION: Leech infestation should be considered as a possible cause of heart failure, unexplained hematemesis, spitting of blood and acute onset severe anemia in rural areas. Early identification and removal leech, along with timely transfusion, are critical and often life saving.

Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.

Heart-failure case secondary to severe anemia from oropharyngeal leech infestation.

Erfahren Sie, wie diese Forschung mit der klinischen Praxis verknüpft ist

More peer-reviewed studies in Sicherheit & Infektionskontrolle.

• Leech-Assisted Flap Salvage — Systematic Review of 277 Cases — Whitaker et al. (2012)
• Effects of hirudotherapy on liver functions, lipid profile, and insulin sensitivity in rats with metabolic syndrome — Bilden A et al. (2026)
• Efficacy and Safety of Hirudotherapy for Improving Sperm Quality Parameters in Male Infertility: A Randomized Controlled Trial — Abtahi-Forooshani M et al. (2026)
• Improvement of patient care through hirudotherapy and the management of leeches from their reception to their disposal in France — Vaesken C et al. (2023)
• Hirudotherapy in Medicine and Dentistry — Jha K et al. (2015)
• Management of Chronic Non-healing Wounds by Hirudotherapy — Iqbal A et al. (2017)
• Hirudotherapy attenuates arthritic pain in patients with various chronic pain syndromes: A retrospective analysis — Loeser J et al. (2020)
• Hirudotherapy (medicinal leeches) for treatment of upper airway obstruction in a dog — Trenholme H, Masseau I, Reinero C (2021)
• Analysis of antibiotic resistant infections associated with hirudotherapy — Brauer P et al. (2024)
• Leech Me Alone! Atraumatic Hemarthrosis after Hirudotherapy — Curcio J, Lloyd C (2020)

Browse all ASH-analysed research →