title: Justification for use of a single trichrome stain as the sole means for routine detection of intestinal parasites in concentrated stool specimens.
abstract: Of 12,321 stool samples analyzed over a 6-year interval, 870 (7.1%) were positive for a total of 1,019 parasites, of which 1,011 (99.2%) were found in trichrome-stained smears of unconcentrated specimens while only 479 (47.0%) were detected in iodine-stained smears of concentrated samples. Stool specimens were next analyzed by trichrome staining of both unconcentrated and concentrated specimens preserved in either mercury-polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) or cupric PVA. Of 2,198 specimens, 171 (7.8%) were positive for a total of 208 parasites, 192 (92.3%) and 204 (98.1%) of which were found in the unconcentrated and concentrated specimens, respectively (P < 0.05). In our patient population, examination of a single trichrome-stained smear of a concentrated stool specimen is a cost-effective alternative to routinely analyzing both concentrated and unconcentrated specimens for parasites.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, York Hospital, York, Pennsylvania, USA. jkellogg@yorkhospital.edu
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kellogg
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Elder
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001391:Azo Compounds; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004396:Coloring Agents; D004801:Eosine Yellowish-(YS); D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D008739:Methyl Green; D010271:Parasites / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010272:Parasitic Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity