Rectal Biopsy and Amoebiasis

Abstract

Summary The contribution of rectal biopsy to the diagnosis of chronic amoebiasis has been described in this paper. Out of 1,725 examined patients, 415 (24 per cent.) were found to be positive for E. histolytica on rectal biopsy and 207 (12 per cent.) on stool examination, while 74 were found to be positive by both methods. In 1,653 out of the 1,725 cases, the proctosigmoidoscopy findings varied from moderate or mild to a normal mucosa, with 402 positive cases on rectal biopsy. Of 1,058 cases with moderate or mild colitis, rectal biopsy results were positive in 257 instances. On the other hand, out of 595 cases with apparent normal mucosa, 145 were found to have E. histolytica on rectal biopsy. The above facts are of great importance and indicate that rectal biopsy is a more reliable method in positive findings than the stool examination and should be applied to patients with apparently normal mucosa as well as to those with proctosigmoidoscopic findings of chronic amoebic colitis. The diagnostic method described becomes still more important when medical men realize that negative results of stool examinations do not exclude amoebiasis.