INTESTINAL SPIROCHETOSIS IN CHILDREN - REPORT OF 2 CASES

Two cases of intestinal spirochetosis in two children are reported. Th e first patient, a 7 1/2-year-old boy, presented with diarrhea and rec tal bleeding. After the diagnosis was made by a rectal biopsy, he was given metronidazole and neomycin. Symptoms persisted despite a further rectal biopsy that showed clearance of the organisms. Appendiceal spi rochetosis was an incidental finding in our second patient, an 8-year- old girl who presented with acute abdominal pain and in whom mesenteri c adenitis was diagnosed clinically at laparotomy. The possible pathog enic mechanisms causing clinical symptoms are discussed.