Objective: Intestinal parasitic diseases are important public health problems in our country as well as in the world. In this study, intestinal parasites were investigated in patients admitted to Dokuz Eylül University Hospital (DEUH) with various gastrointestinal system complaints.
Methods: Patients (n=18460) who were referred to the DEUH Central Parasitology Laboratory between January 2011 and December 2018, were included in the study. Fecal samples were examined with Nativ-lugol method and then formol ethyl-acetate precipitation method was applied. Trichrome and kinyoun acid-fast stainings were performed on the necessary samples. Demographic data of the patients were obtained from the hospital's and laboratory's information operating system.
Results: One or more parasites were detected in 6% (1128) of 18460 patients examined. The mean age of the patients with parasites was 39.7 (±23.1) years, of which 53.3% were male and 47.6% were female. The distribution of parasites detected were as follows; 4.8% (879) Blastocystis hominis, 0.7% (135) amoebas other than Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, 0.4% (70) Giardia intestinalis, 0.3% (49) Enterebius vermicularis, 0.1% (21) Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, and 0.01% (10) other rare parasites.
Conclusion: Our study shows that intestinal parasitic infections are still an important public health problem in our region and that there is a decrease in their incidence.
Keywords: Intestinal parasites; microscopic examination; İzmir.