Pesquisa de oocistos de Cryptosporidium sp em fezes: comparaçäo entre os métodos de Kinyoun modificado e de Heine / Stool test for oocysts of Cryptosporidium sp: comparison between modified Kinyoun's method and Heine's method

ABSTRACT

The diagnosis of intestinal infection by Cryptosporidium sp is crucial today; with the progression of the AIDS epidemic, many cases of cryptosporidiosis have appeared in this setting and in other immunodeficiency diseases. We compared the advantages and disadvantages of Heine's method and modified Kinyoun's method in the following parameters: morphology of the parasite, quantitation of cysts, stability of the staining characteristics timewise on the slides and time spend at staining. All positive fecal smears were obtained from patients with AIDS. The sensitivity of these two techniques was the same. The choice should be made by the best aspects of each method. Heine's was better for quantitation of the cysts and was faster. Kinyoun's was better for conserving the stained smear.