INVESTIGATION OF THE PREVALENCE OF PATHOGENIC INTESTINAL PROTOZOANS IN PATIENTS WITH GASTROINTESTINAL COMPLAINTS VIA MICROSCOPY AND MULTIPLEX REAL-TIME PCR

Objective: This study aimed to contribute to surveillance data by determining the prevalence of pathogenic intestinal protozoans in patients with gastrointestinal complaints and to comparatively evaluate the performance of microscopy and multiplex real-time PCR methods. Materials and Methods: Forty adults (18 years or older) and 40 children (aged 5 to 12 years) who volunteered patients with at least one gastrointestinal complaint were included in the study. Stool samples collected three times every other day from each patient were examined under a light microscope using Native-Lugol, modified formol-ether concentration, Wheatley’s modified trichrome staining, and Modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining techniques. In addition, the first stool samples were tested using multiplex real-time PCR with the Allplex™ GI Parasite Assay panel after DNA extraction. Differences between the sensitivities and specificities between the methods were analysed using Fisher’s exact test. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The prevalence of pathogenic intestinal protozoans was 25% in adults and 35% in children. Differences in the sensitivities and specificities of the methods were not found to be statistically significant (p=0.999). Conclusion: Multiplex real-time PCR method performed using the Allplex™ GI Parasite Assay panel was effective even when only the first sample tested, suggesting that this method would be used for the routine diagnosis of pathogenic intestinal protozoans.