Diagnosis of Intestinal Parasitic Infections in Immune-compromised Children with Diarrhea from Fayoum Governorate, Egypt

Introduction : Intestinal parasite infections are common in children. Children under five are more prone ‎to infections due to their immature immune systems and dietary habits. Objective: The current study diagnosed intestinal parasitic infections in a group of immune-compromised children presented with chronic diarrhea in comparison with normal control group.‎Subjects and Methods: The present work was carried on (140) children from ‎some Fayoum ‎Hospitals ‎divided in 2 groups: (72) diarrheic immune-‎compromised children and (68) ‎children as ‎control with the ‎same socioeconomic background. ‎Each ‎participant in this study supplied a full data sheet including socio-demographic ‎data and possible risk factors for attracting parasitic infections. Stool samples of cases were supplied and ‎subjected to different techniques such as direct smear, concentration ‎techniques, staining with modified ‎ZN stain, staining with Iron-hematoxylin.Results: The study showed that the prevalence of infection with Cryptosporidium spp and ‎Entamoeba histolytica ‏‎( E. histolytica ) was significantly higher in immune-compromised than in non-diarrheic controls. Also, those with non-hygienic habits ‎such as ‎irregular hand wash, eating junk food, playing in the ground or ‎exposing ‎to ‎animals were more prone to parasitic infection.Conclusion: ‎ ‎It was concluded that ‎‏chronic diarrhea in children aged ‎‎ (24-‎‎47) ‎months due to intestinal parasitic was more prevalent in immune-comprimized than in healthy children.‎‏ ‏ Cryptosporidium sp. and E. histolytica, were the most detected parasites in the immunocopromised group by a detection rate of (88.9%, 72.2%). While Enterobius vermicularis and Giardia lamblia were detected in (16.6% and 13.9%) of cases.