DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL MEDICINE, SCHOOL OF HEALTH, ISFAHAN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES AND HEALTH SERVICES, ISFAHAN, IRAN
Abstract
Introduction: Cryptosporidium is a parasite from coccidian order and one of the most common causes of diarrhea in the world, which can lead to a severe and prolonged disease in immunodeficient patients. There is a discrepancy regarding the prevalence rate of this parastie in different studies in our country patients on dialysis are usually prone to infectious disease especially those caused by opportunistic organisms. We studied the prevalence rate of the cryptosporidium infection in a group of patients on dialysis who were considered to have acquired immunodeficiency.
Methods: This is a descriptive analytic study which included 104 dialyzed patients on dialysis in Al-zahra, shariati and Ali-asghar hospital, Isfahan, Iran. Between January 2001 and October 2001. Cases were chosen according to convenience sampling standards. They were all tested for cryptosporidium infection. Test results in the case group were then compared with the rate of cryptosporidium infection. In the control group which included 91 healthy household family members of the patients in the case group and 140 healthy people from the society. At least two samples were collected from every subject on two different occasions. To detect cryptosporidium oocytes, modified acid-fast technique we used.
Results: 12 (11/5%) out of the 104 cases were proved infected by cryptosporidium. This figure dropped to 3.9% in control group respectively. Based on X2 test, rate of infection for the case group was considerably greater than for the control group Infection in the case group didn't show any significant relation with such factors as sex, age and duration of dialysis, history if kidney transplantation and history of immunosuppressive drugs consumption. The rate of infection peaked in diabetic cases (19.4%), while compared with non- diabetic ones (8.3%) (p<0.05).
Conclusions: Our study showed that the prevalence rare of cryptosporidium infection in dialyzed patients was considerably higer than general population. The results were fully correspondent with those of other surveys on immunocompromized patients. Neither Our study nor the similar previously conducted ones revealed no significant association between age and sex and cryptosporidium infection.
We couldn't show any relation between the rate of infection and duration of dialysis.
This difference is likely due to either limited number of cases or a lack of proportional increase in susceptibility to infection atter a certain period of dialysis. Finally we found out that the rate of infection in dialyzed diabetic patients was extra ordinarily higher, which could be the product of acquired immunodeficiency of diabetes.
Methods: This is a descriptive analytic study which included 104 dialyzed patients on dialysis in Al-zahra, shariati and Ali-asghar hospital, Isfahan, Iran. Between January 2001 and October 2001. Cases were chosen according to convenience sampling standards. They were all tested for cryptosporidium infection. Test results in the case group were then compared with the rate of cryptosporidium infection. In the control group which included 91 healthy household family members of the patients in the case group and 140 healthy people from the society. At least two samples were collected from every subject on two different occasions. To detect cryptosporidium oocytes, modified acid-fast technique we used.
Results: 12 (11/5%) out of the 104 cases were proved infected by cryptosporidium. This figure dropped to 3.9% in control group respectively. Based on X2 test, rate of infection for the case group was considerably greater than for the control group Infection in the case group didn't show any significant relation with such factors as sex, age and duration of dialysis, history if kidney transplantation and history of immunosuppressive drugs consumption. The rate of infection peaked in diabetic cases (19.4%), while compared with non- diabetic ones (8.3%) (p<0.05).
Conclusions: Our study showed that the prevalence rare of cryptosporidium infection in dialyzed patients was considerably higer than general population. The results were fully correspondent with those of other surveys on immunocompromized patients. Neither Our study nor the similar previously conducted ones revealed no significant association between age and sex and cryptosporidium infection.
We couldn't show any relation between the rate of infection and duration of dialysis.
This difference is likely due to either limited number of cases or a lack of proportional increase in susceptibility to infection atter a certain period of dialysis. Finally we found out that the rate of infection in dialyzed diabetic patients was extra ordinarily higher, which could be the product of acquired immunodeficiency of diabetes.
Keywords
Cryptosporidium, patients on dialysis, immunodeficiency