Intestinal Parasitic Infection in Children and Adolescents With Ocular Diseases: The Prevalence, Spectrum, and Effect of Lockdown During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: People with visual impairments and blindness face challenges in performing regular tasks such as maintaining proper sanitation, which makes them vulnerable to intestinal parasitic infections.Aims and objectives: This study aims to examine the prevalence and distribution of intestinal parasitic infections in children and adolescents with ocular diseases and to assess if the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic affected these rates.Methods: This retrospective, hospital record-based study was conducted among children and adolescents attending the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology in Kolkata, India. It involved routine stool examinations as part of their treatment during 2019-2020. Early morning stool specimens were collected and brought to the institute laboratory in containers. Stools were examined under a microscope for cysts, ova, parasites, and adult worms. Findings were recorded in the laboratory record book. These data were then extracted into a spreadsheet and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 26 (Released 2019; IBM Corp.,