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

Table 1 Parasites observed in iodine wet mounts of cases and controls before and after concentration n (%)

Parasites observed	Un concentrates		P value	FEA concentrate		P value
	IBS	Controls		IBS	Controls
Blastocystis spp.	16 (14.7)	3 (3.0)	0.0034a	12 (11.0)	2 (2.0)	0.0112a
Cryptosporidium spp.	10 (9.2)	0 (0.0)	0.0017a	10 (9.2)	0 (0.0)	0.0017a
Giardia lamblia	9 (8.3)	1 (1.0)	0.0197a	12 (11.0)	1 (1.0)	0.0029a
Endolimax nana	3 (2.8)	1 (1.0)	0.6228	3 (2.8)	1 (1.0)	0.6228
Entamoeba hartmanni	3 (2.8)	0 (0.0)	0.2477	5 (4.6)	0 (0.0)	0.2477
Entamoeba histolytica/Entamoeba dipar	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)	1	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)	1
Co-infections with 2 parasites	2 (1.8)	1 (1.0)	1	2 (1.8)	1 (1.0)	1

^aP-value of ≤ 0.05 is statistically significant by Fisher’s test. IBS: Irritable bowel syndrome; FEA: Formalin ethyl acetate concentration technique.

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.