Parasitology Department, Institute of Tropical Medicine "Pedro Kourí", Autopista Novia del Mediodía Km 6½ e/Autopista Nacional y Carretera Central, Havana, Cuba.
Latin-American School of Medical Science. La Habana, Cuba.
Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2023 Jun 2;117(6):444-450. doi: 10.1093/trstmh/trac132.
Surveys for intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) often involve samples from three sampling dates analysed by various microscopy techniques. However, analysis of three samples per individual is a huge burden on time and resources. We compared the value from analysing three or fewer samples.
In this cross-sectional study, three faecal samples were collected every other day from 332 children from two locations in Guantanamo province, Cuba. Samples were analysed by wet mount with Lugol stain, Willis flotation method and Kato-Katz thick smear.
Most parasites were detected by wet mount, although helminth eggs not found by wet smear were detected by the Willis flotation method (in particular) and Kato-Katz smear. Blastocystis spp. was the most commonly detected parasite (about 65%), then Giardia duodenalis and then Entamoeba spp. Although analysis of two stool samples significantly increased occurrence data for Blastocystis, this was not so for the other parasites. For none of the protozoan parasites were results from analysing three samples significantly higher than results from analysing just two samples.
Analysing two faecal samples by wet mount and the Willis flotation method provides useful data for estimating the prevalence of IPIs in relatively high prevalence settings. Analysing further samples provides limited additional information and adds an extra burden in terms of time and resources.
肠道寄生虫感染（IPIs）的调查通常涉及通过各种显微镜技术分析三个采样日期的样本。然而，对每个人进行三个样本的分析在时间和资源上是一个巨大的负担。我们比较了分析三个或更少样本的价值。
在这项横断面研究中，从古巴关塔那摩省的两个地点采集了 332 名儿童每隔一天的三个粪便样本。通过湿片镜检用卢戈氏碘液染色、Willis 漂浮法和加藤厚涂片法对样本进行分析。
虽然通过湿涂片未发现的蠕虫卵，但通过 Willis 漂浮法（特别是）和加藤厚涂片法检测到了大多数寄生虫。最常检测到的寄生虫是 Blastocystis spp.（约 65%），其次是 Giardia duodenalis 和 Entamoeba spp.。虽然分析两个粪便样本显著增加了 Blastocystis 的发生数据，但对于其他寄生虫则并非如此。对于所有原生动物寄生虫，分析三个样本的结果都没有显著高于分析两个样本的结果。
通过湿片镜检和 Willis 漂浮法分析两个粪便样本可以提供有用的数据，用于估计相对高流行地区的肠道寄生虫感染的流行率。进一步分析样本提供的信息有限，并且会增加时间和资源方面的额外负担。
