title: Putative bronchopulmonary flagellated protozoa in immunosuppressed patients.
abstract: Flagellated protozoa that cause bronchopulmonary symptoms in humans are commonly neglected. These protozoal forms which were presumed to be "flagellated protozoa" have been previously identified in immunosuppressed patients in a number of studies, but have not been certainly classified so far. Since no human cases of bronchopulmonary flagellated protozoa were reported from Turkey, we aimed to investigate these putative protozoa in immunosuppressed patients who are particularly at risk of infectious diseases. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples of 110 immunosuppressed adult patients who were admitted to the Department of Chest Diseases, Hafsa Sultan Hospital of Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey, were examined in terms of parasites by light microscopy. Flagellated protozoal forms were detected in nine (8.2%) of 110 cases. Metronidazole (500 mg b.i.d. for 30 days) was given to all positive cases and a second bronchoscopy was performed at the end of the treatment, which revealed no parasites. In conclusion, immunosuppressed patients with bronchopulmonary symptoms should attentively be examined with regard to flagellated protozoa which can easily be misidentified as epithelial cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Celal Bayar University, 45030 Manisa, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ali Ahmet
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Kilimcioglu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chest Disease, Faculty of Medicine, Celal Bayar University, 45030 Manisa, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yavuz
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Havlucu
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Celal Bayar University, 45030 Manisa, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nogay
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9680-4294
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Girginkardesler
authors.affiliation: Department of Chest Disease, Faculty of Medicine, Celal Bayar University, 45030 Manisa, Turkey.
authors.forename: Pınar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Celik
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Celal Bayar University, 45030 Manisa, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kor
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3738-3872
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yereli
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Celal Bayar University, 45030 Manisa, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Özbilgin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000469:parasitology*; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008795:Metronidazole / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008875:Middle Aged; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D014421:Turkey
chemical_list: D008795:Metronidazole