RESUMEN
Background: Pregnant women often experience more severe intestinal parasitic infections than their non-pregnant counterparts. Intestinal parasitic infections also disturb pregnancy at the maternal and fetal level. Objective of the study was to find out the prevalence of intestinal parasites in pregnant women and its relationship with various socio-demographic factors.Methods: A single stool specimen was collected. A saline and iodine mount was examined microscopically to demonstrate the intestinal parasites. Formol ether Concentration technique was performed to increase the yield of the eggs and larvae. Modified acid-fast staining was done for opportunistic parasitic infections.Results: In this study 300 pregnant women were screened for presence of intestinal parasites. The prevalence of intestinal parasites was 42.67%. Women who practiced hand washing regularly and had knowledge about parasites had lesser infection. The dietary practice of taking green leafy vegetables had protective effect during pregnancy. The prevalence of intestinal parasites was almost same in both rural and urban women. Higher prevalence of intestinal parasites was found in lower socioeconomic class. Women who used river as source of water supply had slightly more prevalence than those who used municipal water. The prevalence of hookworm infection was more in women who never wore sandals.Conclusions: The high prevalence of intestinal parasites in the pregnant women indicates faecal pollution of soil and domestic water supply. Education and awareness regarding intestinal parasites need to be done during their routine antenatal visits. Emphasis should be made on consistent hand washing, consumption of washed leafy vegetables and use of footwear. Deworming of pregnant women should be considered in the national guidelines.
RESUMEN
Objective: To determine the performance of PDA vital staining method in detecting viability of acid fast bacilli in comparison with culture and also its correlation with conventional drug susceptibility testing results for isoniazid and rifampicin. Design: The study was conducted from Jan 2014 to June 2015. Sputum samples of patients taking either Cat I or Cat II anti-TB treatment were tested by Ziehl Neelsen and PDA staining, culture and susceptibility to rifampicin and isoniazid at the end of intensive phase
Results: Of the 100 ZN positive specimens, 74 were PDA positive of which 70 were reported positive by both the readers. All specimens having higher grades [2+ and 3+] by ZN were positive by PDA staining. 87.88% of 1+ and 45% of scanty smears were positive by PDA staining. MTB was isolated in 75 specimens of which 72 were positive by PDA. Two culture negative specimens were PDA positive. PDA staining had sensitivity and specificity of 96% and 92% respectively. 70.66% of the total culture isolates were MDRTB strains. 2.66% strains demonstrated monoresistance to each of INH and rifampicin
Conclusion: PDA microscopy can be used as a simple and rapid TB treatment monitoring tool in resource limited settings to identify those patients requiring immediate culture and DST test