title: Use of pooled formalin-preserved fecal specimens to detect Giardia lamblia.
abstract: Three formalin-preserved fecal specimens from the same child attending a child-care center were pooled and compared with the three separate individual specimens by a single microscopic examination of concentration sediment for Giardia lamblia. The sensitivity of the pooled system was 100% when two or more individual specimens were positive and 88% when only one individual specimen was positive. The organism density in a single specimen was not a factor of whether the pool of specimens was positive or negative. Nearly half of the pools that contained positive specimens had only one of three specimens with positive results, reinforcing the need for multiple stool examinations when diagnosing G. lamblia infections.
authors.affiliation: Parasitic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia 30333.
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Wahlquist
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bishop
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Addiss
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Finton
authors.forename: D D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Juranek
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Sullivan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005557:Formaldehyde; D016829:Giardia lamblia / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005873:Giardiasis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D005557:Formaldehyde