Protozoan parasites in irritable bowel syndrome: A case-control study

Table 2 Blastocystis and Cryptosporidium spp. in irritable bowel syndrome patients and controls as detected by all methods n (%)

Test	Blastocystis spp.			Cryptosporidium spp.
	IBS	Controls	P value	IBS	Controls	P value
Iodine wet mounts	14 (12.8)	3 (3.0)	0.0106a	10 (9.2)	0 (0.0)	0.0017a
FEA	12 (11.0)	2 (2.0)	0.0112a	12 (11.0)	0 (0.0)	0.0003a
Trichrome stain	14 (12.8)	2 (2.0)	0.0034a	12 (11.0)	0 (0.0)	0.0003a
PCR	28 (25.7)	9 (9.0)	0.0019a	-	-	-
Acid fast stain	-	-	-	14 (12.8)	0 (0.0)	0.0001a
ELISA	ND	ND	-	6 (5.5)	1 (1.0)	0.1211

^aP-value of ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. FEA: Formalin ethyl acetate concentration technique; IBS: Irritable bowel syndrome; ELISA: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; ND: Not detected.