Intestinal parasites: incidence and etiology in over 1,000 patients at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh

ABSTRACT

Stool specimens from 3, 817 patients were examined for presence of intestinal parasites during the calendar year 1985 at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh. Protozoan or metazoan parasites were found in 1, 036 [27.8%] patients, yielding a total of 1, 411 organisms. Incidence of potentially pathogenic parasites was 22.9% of the total and commensal was 77.1%. Of the first group, Giardia lamblia was most common, constituting over half of all the parasites within this group, followed by Hymenolepis nana. Among the commensals, Entamoeba coli was encountered most frequently, followed by Endolimax nana and Blastocystis hominis. Although over 77% of the parasites observed were considered non-pathogenic, their presence in the stool strongly suggests the possibility of patient's exposure to environmental conditions that may result in the ingestion of contaminated food or water containing pathogenic parasites