Patients with ulcerative colitis utilize hookworm therapy without medical supervision. However, the safety, effectiveness, and tolerability of hookworm therapy in randomized studies have not been evaluated. Therefore, the use of hookworm treatment was examined in a pilot study conducted on 20 patients with ulcerative colitis in disease remission and on maintenance medication, 5-aminosalicylate. At 52 weeks, 40% of the hookworm group and 50% of the placebo group had maintained clinical remission.
The hookworm group's median time to flare was 231 days, while the placebo group was 259 days. All individuals in the hookworm group had eosinophilia, and 90% of them had identifiable eggs in their feces. Adverse events such as nausea and rashes at the application site were mild, with no significant difference in the quality of life of patients. Thus, the study demonstrated that hookworm therapy…
