Vaginal leech infestation: a rare cause of hypovolemic shock in postmenopausal woman
Case report published in Ethiop J Health Sci (2015)
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Human leech infestation is a disease of the poor who live in rural areas and use water contaminated with leeches. Like any other body orifices, vagina can also be infested by leech when females use contaminated water for bathing and/or douching. Although this condition is very rare in postmenopausal women, it causes morbidities and mortalities. CASE DETAILS: A 70 year old Para X (all alive) abortion I mother, postmenopausal for the last 20 years, presented with vaginal bleeding of 3 weeks duration to Gimbie Adventist Hospital, Western Ethiopia. On examination, she had deranged vital signs and there was a dark moving worm attached to the cervical os. She was admitted with the diagnosis of hypovolumic shock and severe anemia secondary to postmenopausal vaginal bleeding. After the patient was stabilized with intravenous crystalloids, the leech was removed from the vagina. She was then transfused with two units of whole blood and discharged with good condition on the 3(rd) post procedure day with ferrous sulphate. CONCLUSION: Vaginal leech infestation in postmenopausal woman can cause hypovolumic shock and severe anemia. Therefore, in order to decrease morbidities from failure or delay in making the diagnosis, health care providers should consider the possibility of vaginal leech infestation in postmenopausal woman from rural areas and those who use river water for drinking, bathing and/or douching and presented with vaginal bleeding. In addition, the importance of using clean water and improving access to safe water should be emphasized.
Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.
Resumen
70-year-old postmenopausal woman with hypovolemic shock and severe anemia from vaginal leech infestation requiring 2 units of whole blood transfusion.
Por qué esto importa para la hirudoterapia
This case report describes a 70-year-old postmenopausal Ethiopian woman who presented with hypovolemic shock and severe anemia secondary to vaginal bleeding, with a dark moving worm attached to the cervical os identified as a leech. After stabilization with IV crystalloids and leech removal, she received two units of whole blood and was discharged in good condition on the third post-procedure day. This relates to ASH's domain only indirectly: it documents morbidity from a leech attachment in a clinical context, but it concerns parasitic infestation from contaminated water rather than therapeutic hirudotherapy. The honest caveat is that the leech species is unidentified, no mechanism of action is described, and the case does not inform therapeutic leech practice.
Citación
Vaginal leech infestation: a rare cause of hypovolemic shock in postmenopausal woman.
Tilahun T et al. · Ethiopian journal of health sciences, 2015
Contexto clínico relacionado
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Añadido a la biblioteca ASH: May 27, 2026 · Última actualización del sitio: June 18, 2026