INTESTINAL PARASITES IN CHILDREN RECEIVING CHEMOTHERAPY

EL-HADY, HANAA AHMED; AHMED, NOHA SAMMER; TAHA, MOHAMED AHMED ALI; ABD EL-KAREEM, NASSER MOHAMED; BAKHEET, RAFAAT ABDELAAL

doi:10.21608/jesp.2017.77790

INTESTINAL PARASITES IN CHILDREN RECEIVING CHEMOTHERAPY

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Egypt.

² Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Al Azhar University, Egypt.

³ Department of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Egypt.

10.21608/jesp.2017.77790

Abstract

Serious complications associated with some parasitic diseases in immunosuppressed patients. An extreme course might be connected with noteworthy morbidity and mortal sin in children having intestinal parasitic infections and getting chemotherapy for management from threatening tumors. This study pointed at figuring out the prevalence and type of intestinal parasites over stool specimens of children receiving chemotherapy contrasted with healthy children. A cross-sectional survey was calculated among 100 children receiving chemotherapy in Sohag Oncology Institute and 100 apparently healthy children as a control group. Stool examination by direct method and concentration by formol-ether sedimentation, then staining with Kinyoun’s modified acid-fast stain were done. Among those children receiving chemotherapy, 94% were diagnosed positive for parasitic infections, in contrast to 35% in the control group. Parasites that were detected in children receiving chemotherapy and healthy control group respectively were Cryptosporidium sp.(45% vs.10%), Giardia lamblia (19% vs. 7%), Entamoeba histolytica (14% vs. 4%). Statistically significant differences in these parasitic infections were detected between the two studied groups (p-value < 0.001), while infections with Entamoeba coli (12% vs. 4%), Hymenolepis nana (4% vs. 4%), Schistosoma mansoni (0% to 2%) were statistically not significant. Parasitic infection is common among children receiving chemotherapy. In order to get the suitable management clinicians treating children receiving chemotherapy should make mindful about these infections.

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