Estudio comparativo del método de Faust con el examen directo en el diagnóstico de enteroparásitos en niños de Tumán, Perú

Objective. To evaluate the performance of the Faust method compared to direct microscopic examination (DME) in fecal samples from children. Methods. Analytical, prospective, cross-sectional study in a sample of 123 children treated at the Tumán health center. The techniques were applied in a paired and blinded manner in serial fecal samples. Results. The DME detected 44.7 % of parasitosis, while the Faust detected 23.6 % (p<0.050). The most frequently identified enteroparasite was Giardia lamblia with 16.3% using the DME and 17.9 % using the Faust method. The concordance index between the techniques was low (Kappa=39 %; 95 % CI= 0.21-0.40; p<0.001). Conclusions. Direct microscopic examination had a higher diagnostic yield compared to Faust for the detection of intestinal parasites in children aged 1 to 6 years, where the most frequent parasite was Giardia lamblia.