Zamani Rouhangiz, Khademvatan Shahram, Tappeh Khosrow H, Diba Kambiz, Abasi Esmaeil
Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran.
Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Ann Parasitol. 2021;67(4):795-803. doi: 10.17420/ap6704.398.
Blastocystis spp. is known as a common intestinal protozoan parasite in human and animals. The parasite has a worldwide distribution and is frequently detected in faecal samples in clinical parasitology laboratories. The goal of the study was to compare the sensitivity and specificity of formol-ether technique (FECT), trichrome staining, xenic in vitro culture (XIVC), microscopy of faecal smears, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods for detecting Blastocystis spp. in human stool samples. The prevalence of the parasite in the stool samples referred to educational hospitals was also determined. A total of 575 cases were assessed to detect the parasite. After collecting from patients referring to Urmia educational hospitals, the samples were examined by microscopy of faecal smears, trichrome staining, FECT, XIVC using Jones' medium, and PCR, to evaluate the presence of Blastocystis spp. Microscopy of faecal smears, trichrome staining, FECT, and PCR technique detected 94, 100, 96, and 44 positive cases, with the sensitivity of 71.3%, 74.4%, 74.4%, and 80.4% and the specificity of 99.6%, 99.1%, 100%, and 93.1%, respectively. XIVC method identified the highest number of positive cases (129 cases) among the other methods. Our findings indicates that XIVC technique is more sensitive method for the detection of Blastocystis spp. in human stool, as compared to direct smear, trichrome staining, FECT, and PCR methods.
芽囊原虫属被认为是人和动物中常见的肠道原生动物寄生虫。该寄生虫在全球范围内分布，在临床寄生虫学实验室的粪便样本中经常被检测到。本研究的目的是比较甲醛乙醚技术（FECT）、三色染色、异源体外培养（XIVC）、粪便涂片显微镜检查和聚合酶链反应（PCR）方法检测人粪便样本中芽囊原虫属的敏感性和特异性。还确定了转诊至教学医院的粪便样本中该寄生虫的流行率。共评估了575例病例以检测该寄生虫。从转诊至乌尔米教学医院的患者处收集样本后，通过粪便涂片显微镜检查、三色染色、FECT、使用琼斯培养基的XIVC和PCR对样本进行检测，以评估芽囊原虫属的存在情况。粪便涂片显微镜检查、三色染色、FECT和PCR技术分别检测到94、100、96和44例阳性病例，敏感性分别为71.3%、74.4%、74.4%和80.4%，特异性分别为99. [6%、99.1%、100%和93.1%。XIVC方法在其他方法中鉴定出的阳性病例数最多（129例）。我们的研究结果表明，与直接涂片、三色染色、FECT和PCR方法相比，XIVC技术是检测人粪便中芽囊原虫属更敏感的方法。
