Intestinal spirochetosis in children: report of two cases.

Two cases of intestinal spirochetosis in two children are reported. The first patient, a 7 1/2-year-old boy, presented with diarrhea and rectal 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 spirochetosis was an incidental finding in our second patient, an 8-year-old girl who presented with acute abdominal pain and in whom mesenteric adenitis was diagnosed clinically at laparotomy. The possible pathogenic mechanisms causing clinical symptoms are discussed.