Investigation of the best available diagnostic method of intestinal parasites in stool samples to use in hospital's routine exam in Baghdad

Abstract EN

The study was conducted to determine the best diagnostic method which can use for daily routine stool examination in our hospitals and health centers, an attributive evaluation of three conventional diagnostic methods: direct wet mounts, formalinethyl acetate sedimentation, and zinc sulfate floatation, beside acid-fast staining technique was conducted for randomly-chosen 250 stool samples obtained from people who attended AL-Shaheed AL-Sadr hospital in Al-Sader City in Baghdad during Jan.

2011-Dec.

2012.

The results illustrated that 52.4 % (131 / 250) stool samples were contained at least one parasite by all evaluated diagnostic methods.

Ova and cysts were detected by all used methods, floatation showed the highest detection rate 60 % (90 / 150), followed by sedimentation 58.7 % (88 / 150), while direct wet mount exam showed the lowest detection rate 39.3 % (59 / 150).

On the other hand, direct wet mount exam was exclusively responsible for detection of all trophozoites, whereas AF staining was responsible for all detected oocysts.

Thus, the present study suggested multiple diagnostic methods for stool samples by examine all received stool samples by direct wet mount microscopic exam.

Of these, any sample give-ve result then must be submit to floatation method and acid-fast staining so as to give more accurate results in suitable time, cost, and efforts.