Kuo Han-Yueh, Chiang Dung-Hung, Wang Chien-Chun, Chen Te-Li, Fung Chang-Phone, Lin Chih-Pei, Cho Wen-Long, Liu Cheng-Yi
Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
J Microbiol Immunol Infect. 2008 Jun;41(3):222-6.
Blastocystis hominis is an intestinal protozoan. The pathogenic role of this organism in human beings is still controversial and has varied among reports from different geographic areas. The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical significance of B. hominis in northern Taiwan.
A total of 100 patients who had a positive B. hominis stool examination during the period April to December of 2001 were retrospectively identified from Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The demographic and clinical characteristics of these patients were reviewed from the medical records.
All of the patients were adults. Fifty nine patients had more than one underlying diseases, including malignancies. Twenty one patients presented with fever and 10 patients had gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhea and/or abdominal pain. However, all of the patients had other conditions that might have contributed to the clinical presentation, and they improved without specific treatment for B. hominis. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in clinical symptoms and white blood cell count between patients with malignancy or diabetes mellitus and those without. Six patients had hypereosinophilia that could not be attributed to other causes. Among 34 patients who had a further stool examination within one year, B. hominis was undetectable in 31 patients (91.2%), despite their having no specific antiprotozoal treatment.
The association of clinical symptoms and B. hominis could not be delineated from our study, even in immunocompromised patients. All of the patients improved without receiving any specific therapy. More studies from different areas are needed in order to delineate the clinical significance B. hominis.
人芽囊原虫是一种肠道原生动物。该生物体在人类中的致病作用仍存在争议，且不同地理区域的报告结果各异。本研究的目的是确定人芽囊原虫在台湾北部的临床意义。
从台北荣民总医院回顾性选取了2001年4月至12月期间粪便检查人芽囊原虫呈阳性的100例患者。从病历中查阅了这些患者的人口统计学和临床特征。
所有患者均为成年人。59例患者有一种以上基础疾病，包括恶性肿瘤。21例患者出现发热，10例患者有胃肠道症状，包括腹泻和/或腹痛。然而，所有患者都有其他可能导致临床表现的情况，且未接受针对人芽囊原虫的特异性治疗病情也有所改善。此外，恶性肿瘤或糖尿病患者与无这些疾病的患者在临床症状和白细胞计数方面无显著差异。6例患者有无法归因于其他原因的嗜酸性粒细胞增多。在34例在一年内进行了进一步粪便检查的患者中，31例（91.2%）未检测到人芽囊原虫，尽管他们未接受特异性抗原生动物治疗。
即使在免疫功能低下的患者中，我们的研究也无法明确临床症状与人芽囊原虫之间的关联。所有患者未接受任何特异性治疗病情均有所改善。需要来自不同地区的更多研究来明确人芽囊原虫的临床意义。
