title: Diarrhea and acaroid mites: a clinical study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the characteristics of diarrhea caused by acaroid mites.
  
  
  METHODS
  Acaroid mites in fresh stools of 241 patients with diarrhea were separated by flotation in saturated saline. Meanwhile, skin prick test, total IgE and mite-specific IgE were detected in all patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total positive rate of mites in stool samples of the patients was 17.01 % (41/241), the positive rates of mites in male and female patients were 15.86 % (23/145) and 18.75 % (18/96), respectively, without significant difference (P>0.05). The percentage of skin prick test as "+++", "++", "+", "+/-" and "-" was 9.13 % (22/241), 7.47 % (18/241), 5.81 % (14/241), 4.98 % (12/241) and 72.61 % (175/241), respectively. The serum levels of total IgE, mite-specific IgE in patients with and without mites in stool samples were (165.72+/-78.55) IU/ml, (132.44+/-26.80) IU/ml and (145.22+/-82.47) IU/ml, (67.35+/-45.28) IU/ml, respectively, with significant difference (P<0.01). The positive rate of mites in stool samples in staffs working in traditional Chinese medicine storehouses or rice storehouses (experimental group) was 26.74 % (23/86), which was significantly higher than that (11.61 %, 18/155) in people engaged in other professions (chi(2)=8.97, P<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Acaroid mites cause diarrhea and increase serum levels of total IgE and mite-specific IgE of patients, and the prevalence of diarrhea caused by acaroid mites is associated with occupations rather than the gender of patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Etiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science Technology, Huainan 232001, Anhui Province, China. cpli@aust.edu.cn
authors.forename: Chao-Pin
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yu-Bao
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Qing-Gui
authors.initials: QG
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tian
mesh_terms: D000053:Acari; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology*; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008924:Mite Infestations / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology; D012275:Oryza; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution
chemical_list: D007073:Immunoglobulin E