ABSTRACT

A retrospective evaluation of the data from 7,712 patients with gastrointestinal complaints who presented at the parasitology laboratory of the Dokuz Eylul University Medical Faculty Hospital between January 2003 and December 2004 was carried out. Fecal samples of all patients were examined using native-Lugol and the trichrome staining method after sedimentation by the fecal concentration tube. One or more parasites were detected in 495 (6.41%) of the patients. The distribution of the intestinal parasites was as follows: Blastocystis hominis 218 (44.04%), nonpathogenic amoebas 108 (21.82%), Giardia intestinalis 82 (16.57%), Enterobius vermicularis 50 (10.10%), Entamoeba histolytica 17 (3.43%) and other rare parasites 20 (4.04%). The results of this study were similar to those of other cities in the western part of Turkey and emphasize the fact that intestinal parasitic infections are still an important public health problem.