Gastrointestinal parasites diagnoses at the primary health care units: a comparative analysis of diagnostic abilities of parasitology staff technicians versus medical parasitologists in Ismailia, Egypt

Abstract

Background This study aims to compare parasitology technicians (ParaTechs) with medical staff parasitologists (MedParas) in terms of diagnostic ability and to assess the actual occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites in selected faecal samples from primary health care units (PHCUs). Methods The study included five PHCU ParaTechs in the El-Kassassin rural area, evaluated using a scoring system for their knowledge, skills, practices and parasitology laboratory facilities. Seventy-five faecal samples previously examined for ova and parasites by ParaTechs were chosen for re-evaluation by MedParas. Results The most deficient ParaTechs-related factor was the parasitological knowledge, which scored 23.9% of the maximum score, while ParaTechs had acceptable levels of skills and practices, scored 60% and 61%, respectively. Compared with MedParas, false positive ParaTech diagnoses made up 8.8% of all negative samples, while false negative diagnoses made up 85.4% of all positive samples. ParaTechs underestimated the count or misidentified the type of parasites in one-third of the true positive samples. The overall rate of misdiagnosis among ParaTechs was 53.3% of all samples. Conclusions Regular ParaTech training, including culture and staining at parasitology labs, and collaboration between the Ministry of Health and Population and academic institutions are essential to increase ParaTechs diagnostic abilities.

Subtypes and phylogenetic analysis of Blastocystis sp. isolates from West Ismailia, Egypt

“…Approximately 60% (31) of this group were asymptomatic; the remainder were symptomatic. Females in this group represented 55.8% (29), and males represented 44.2% (23).…”

“…Three factors may influence the asymptomatic status of Blastocystis infections among Egyptians: (a) awareness, which is limited in the rural Egyptian population, of the need to seek medical attention for diarrhea; (b) the diagnostic ability of Egyptian laboratories to identify Blastocystis sp. in primary care settings (i.e., primary health care units), leaving Blastocystis outside their diagnostic scope 29 ; and (c) in the case of Blastocystis infection, the concept that it is a commensal protist, which encourages Egyptian physicians to disregard treating patients despite the presence of distressing symptoms 29 . These factors may enable Blastocystis sp.…”

“…According to a study on the diagnosis of gastrointestinal parasites by primary health care technicians in El-Kassassin, West Ismailia, Blastocystis sp. and Giardia duodenalis are completely missing from parasitological diagnosis results 29 .…”

Diagnostic Performance of Toluidine Blue Stain for Direct Wet Mount Detection of Cryptosporidium Oocysts: Qualitative and Quantitative Comparison to the Modified Ziehl–Neelsen Stain

“…Standard ova and parasite examination (O&P) failed to discover Cryptosporidium sp., a protozoan intestinal parasite [1]. Cryptosporidium sp.…”

“…Despite the availability of several diagnostic procedures for detecting Cryptosporidium in faeces, slaughterhouses, food, and water [7,10,[15][16][17], diagnosis of Cryptosporidium sp. is still absent in many countries, for example, in Egyptian [1] and Cyprus laboratories [18], although it is present in any country. Numerous characteristics, including the tiny, microscopic size, staining absorbance, and shape of Cryptosporidium sp.…”