Spectrum of Parasitic Infections in Patients with Diarrhoea Attending a Tertiary Care Hospital in Western Rajasthan, India

Owing to the poor socioeconomic conditions and lack of sanitary hygiene, a large number of population in developing countries remain under constant threat of different parasitic infections causing severe morbidity and mortality. Enough measures to prevent and reduce the disease burden are still to be undertaken. Aim of the study was to determine the spectrum of parasitic infections in patients with complaints of diarrhoea and other gastrointestinal symptoms attending a tertiary care hospital in Western Rajasthan, India. It is a retrospective study conducted in the Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, India, between the period of September 2014 and April 2016. The records of routine stool examination carried out during the study period, were analyzed. A total of 968 stool samples from the same number of patients complaining of diarrhoea and other gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, flatulence, and pain abdomen were received from different outdoor and indoor wards of the hospital. Microscopic examination was performed after the concentration of stool samples by formol-ether concentration technique and their wet mount preparations. Modified Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining was performed on 17 samples for the detection of coccidian parasites. Out of 968 cases, 158 (16.3%) were found to be infected with either a parasite or a commensal or both. A maximum number of isolates (21.1%) were from the age group of 31-40 years. Overall, protozoans (95.38%) were detected in excess of helminths (4.62%). The most common protozoa isolated was (37.57%) followed by (23.12%), and the most common helminth isolated was (2.9%) followed by (1.15%). Out of 17 stool samples, where modified ZN staining was performed, spp., , and spp. were detected in one sample each. Intestinal protozoal infections are more prevalent as compared to helminthic infections in this study group.