Evaluation of immunochromatographic test for the detection of antibodies against Echinococcosis granulosus.

BACKGROUND: Echinococcosis in humans is a disease caused by the larvae of Echinococcus granulosus (E. granulosus) and Echinococcus multilocularis (E. multilocularis). Serological tests are valuable, especially in the clarification of unexplained clinical findings and imaging methods. For this reason, indirect hemagglutination (IHA), latex agglutination, immunoelectrophoresis, immunoblotting, immuno-enzymatic tests, indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) are used. The purpose of this study was to investigate the value of an immunochromatographic test (ICT) specific for E. granulosus antibodies in the diagnosis of echinococcosis. MATERIAL/METHODS: ICT evaluated 102 cases of cystic echinococcosis, 38 cases of other parasitic diseases, and 50 healthy individuals. ELISA (DRG, Germany) that detects IgG antibodies specific for E. granulosus was used as the reference method. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of ICT were 96.8%, 87.5%, 98.9%, and 70%, respectively. Diagnostic value was 96.1%. No significant differences and high degrees of agreement were found between ELISA and immunochromatographic test for cystic echinococcosis. Serum samples included 4 taeniasis, 2 leishmaniasis, and 2 healthy individuals were diagnosed to be positive with immunochromatographic test. CONCLUSIONS: The ability of test to give fast results without need for equipment, devices, and specific storage conditions is an advantage. This test may be used due to its advantages in endemic regions for screening and diagnostic purposes.

Primary hydatid disease in adductor muscles.

Primary muscular Echinococcus infection is very rare without involvement of thoracic and abdominal organs. In this case a 31-year-old man who had a growing mass in the postero-medial part of his right thigh was examined. The mass was diagnosed as hydatid cyst using ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and serological tests. It was removed surgically and there has been no recurrence one year after the surgery. The MRI imaging characteristics may differ depending on the life cycle stage of the parasite. In this case report, we discuss the imaging characteristics of the muscular hydatid cyst with special emphasis on the MRI findings. In regions where hydatidosis is endemic, a mass found in body muscles should be considered as a muscular hydatid cyst.

[The prevalence of cryptosporidiosis in children who were diagnosed with leukemia and lymphoma]. / Lösemi ve Lenfoma Tanisi Alan Cocuklarda Cryptosporidiosis Prevalansi.

Cryptosporidium spp. is known to cause heavy diarrhea especially in immunosuppressed patients. In this study, eighty nine leukemia and lymphoma patients between the ages of 1 to 14 were studied for the prevalence of Cryptosporidiosis using both ELISA (Cryptosporidium Rida Screen, R-Biopharm, Germany) and the Kinyoun acid-fast staining method. These patients were sent to us by the Hematology-Oncology department where they were diagnosed with leukemia and lymphoma. Cryptosporidium spp. were detected in 11 patients (12.35%) with ELISA and in 7 patients (7.86%) with the Kinyoun acid fast stain. No cryptosporidiosis was detected in the control groups of 60 patients with neoplasia but without diarrhea. The distribution of Cryptosporidium among positive samples were 7 (14.8%) in patients who were diagnosed with ALL, 3 (10%) in patients who were diagnosed with KML, and 1 (8.3%) in patients who were diagnosed with solid tumors. Sixty-five patients (73.03%) had a fever, 43 patients (48.31%) were vomiting and 58 patients (65.16%) had stomach pain. Except for two, all the patients responded positively to paromomycin treatment. Those two patients responded positively to azitromycine treatment. We suggest that when considering cryptosporidiosis in children with cancer, the use of a more sensitive and specific method such as ELISA- in addition to the acid fast stain should be considered.

[Cystic echinococcosis in Turkey from 2001-2005]. / Türkiye'de 2001-2005 Yillari Arasinda Kistik Ekinokokkozis.

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) caused by the metacestode form of Echinococcus granulosus is a major public health problem especially in animal-raising regions of the world. In the present study, CE cases were determined during 2001-2005 by investigating different hospital and health directorship documents and Health Ministry documents, retrospectively. Our results show that there were 2534 (13.13%) cases in the Marmara region; 2114 (16.94%), in the Aegean region; 2578 (16.09%), Mediterranean region; 5404 (38.57%), in the Middle Anatolian region; 428 (5.70%), in the Black Sea region; 844 (6.80%), in the eastern Anatolian region; and 887 (2.75%), in the southeastern Anatolian region making a total of 14,789 CE cases. Finally, it has been determined that the patients were hospitalized for a total of 149,464 days.

[Distribution of intestinal parasites among patients who presented at the parasitology laboratory of the Kocaeli University School of Medicine Hospital]. / Kocaeli Universitesi Tip Fakültesi Hastanesi Parazitoloji Laboratuvarina Basvuran Hastalarda Bagirsak Parazitlerinin Dagilimi.

In this study, 5178 fecal samples collected from patients who applied to our university during May 2003 through June 2005 were examined for the presence of intestinal parasites. Out of 5178 samples, 4560 of them were collected with cellophane tape preparations. Fecal samples were examined using native- Lugol and the trichrome staining method after sedimentation by formal-ethyl acetate concentration. The prevalence of intestinal parasites was evaluated with respect to age, gender and the months in which cases were seen. One or more parasites were found in 553 (10.67%) of the 5178 stool samples. Of these, 39.8% were female and 60.2, male. The distribution of the intestinal parasites was as follows; G. intestinalis in 138 cases (24.9%), E. vermicularis in 129 cases (23.3%), D. fragilis in 10 cases (1.8%), I. bütschlii cysts in 26 cases (4.7%), Taenia spp in 17 cases (3.07%) and Chilomastix mesnili in one case (0.18%). The rate of the presence of intestinal parasites in the 0-14 age group was higher than that of other groups. The incidence of parasitic diseases was lower in this study as compared to the results previously reported from our hospital. In our region intestinal parasites were predominantly protozoan whereas a lower rate of helminth isolations was noticeable. Parasitic infections continue to be an important public health problem in our country.