title: Irritable bowel syndrome: in search of an etiology: role of Blastocystis hominis.
abstract: This study was designed to examine stool specimens of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients for Blastocystis hominis, a common intestinal parasite. One hundred fifty patients were enrolled, 95 IBS cases and 55 controls. These patients provided a medical history, and underwent physical and laboratory evaluations that included stool microscopy and culture for B. hominis and colonoscopy. The 95 cases (51 males and 44 females) had a mean +/- SD age of 37.8 +/- 13.2 years. Stool microscopy was positive for B. hominis in 32% (30 of 95) of the cases and 7% (4 of 55) of the controls (P = 0.001). Stool culture was positive in 46% (44 of 95) of the cases and 7% (4 of 55) of the controls (P < 0.001). Stool culture for B. hominis in IBS was more sensitive than microscopy (P < 0.001). Blastocystis hominis was frequently demonstrated in the stool samples of IBS patients; however, its significance in IBS still needs to be investigated. Stool culture has a higher positive yield for B. hominis than stool microscopy.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine and Pathology, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. yakoobjaved@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Javed
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yakoob
authors.forename: Wasim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jafri
authors.forename: Nadim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jafri
authors.forename: Rustam
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.forename: M Asim
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Beg
authors.forename: Viqar
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zaman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D016776:Blastocystis Infections / Q000469:parasitology*; D016845:Blastocystis hominis / Q000254:growth & development*; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D010154:Pakistan; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric