ABSTRACT

Blastocystosis has been linked with non-specific symptoms, such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, and distention. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between Blastocystis spp. with urticaria and intestinal symptoms.

The results of the stool examinations of the patients who were referred to Ege University Medical Faculty Hospital’s Medical Parasitology Department Direct Diagnosis Laboratory with gastrointestinal (GIS) and/or dermatologic symptoms between January 2011 and July 2016 were retrospectively scanned.

Of the evaluated 37108 stool samples, 2573 (6.93 %) were identified to be positive for Blastocystis spp. The patients with gastrointestinal complaints comprised 68.4% of Blastocystis spp. positive samples (1.761 samples) while 30.1% of patients had dermatologic symptoms (urticaria) (776 samples). Blastocystis spp. density in the non-amplified (without using any stool concentration technique) stool samples of the patients with GIS and dermatological symptoms was as follows: 2.47%, 1.35% rare, 21.73%, 22.17% few, 49.65%, 54.29% medium, 26.27%, and 22.17% dense, respectively.

75.92% and 76.46% of the patients with GIS and dermatological complaints had medium to dense parasite densities in their stool samples respectively. This suggests a positive correlation between parasite density and GIS and dermatologic symptomatology.

Keywords: Blastocystosis, urticaria, gastrointestinal complaints, parasite burden