Pietrzak Aldona, Kanitakis Jean, Tomasiewicz Krzysztof, Wawrzycki Bartłomiej, Kozłowska-Łój Jolanta, Dybiec Ewa, Chodorowska Grażyna
Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Pediatric Dermatology, Medical University, Lublin, Poland.
Ann Agric Environ Med. 2012;19(4):790-2.
The medical leech (Hirudo medicinalis) has been used throughout the centuries and continues to be used today, mainly in reconstructive surgery and microsurgery. Easy access to these animals may entail an improper use of this therapeutic method by patients as a form of self-treatment.
A man who presented with skin erythema and oedema due to the application of a medical leech.
Infection is considered the most common complication of hirudotherapy, even though bacteriological examination of leech applied by the patient showed neither bacterial nor parasitic infection. The skin lesions were probably of allergic origin; whether this reaction was due to substances released from the leech or as a consequence of reusing the same leech, remains to be determined.
医用蚂蟥（医蛭）在几个世纪以来一直被使用，至今仍在使用，主要用于整形外科和显微外科手术。这些动物容易获取，可能会导致患者将这种治疗方法作为一种自我治疗方式不当使用。
一名男子因使用医用蚂蟥而出现皮肤红斑和水肿。
尽管对患者使用的蚂蟥进行细菌学检查未发现细菌或寄生虫感染，但感染仍被认为是水蛭疗法最常见的并发症。皮肤病变可能源于过敏；这种反应是由于蚂蟥释放的物质还是重复使用同一只蚂蟥所致，仍有待确定。
