title: The prevalence of intestinal parasites in hemodialysis patients in Bushehr, Iran.
abstract: Hemodialysis patients, due to a dysfunction of the immune response, are prone to a variety of opportunistic infections. Studies of intestinal parasitic infections in these patients are limited. Therefore, the present study was performed to determine the prevalence of these infections in patients on hemodialysis in Bushehr. In this cross-sectional study, fecal samples have been collected from all hemodialysis patients who were continuously referred from September 2011 to September 2012 to the dialysis center at Bushehr and tested using routine parasitological methods. From a total of 88 patients studied, 25 patients (28.4%) were infected with one or more intestinal parasites. Blastocystis hominis and Entamoeba coli with 13.6% and 6.7% prevalence had the highest prevalence among the patients, respectively. The age group 51-70 years had the highest rates of infection. Statistical analysis showed no relationship between sex and the risk of intestinal parasites. Seventeen percent of infected patients showed up with diarrhea and this relationship was statistically significant. Considering the high prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection among hemodialysis patients in Bushehr and also the high probability of infection in these patients, it is recommended that periodic examinations and screening patients during dialysis and before kidney transplantation should be a part of routine medical care.
authors: The Persian Gulf Marine Biotechnology Research Center, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran.|Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors: Afshin
authors: A
authors: Barazesh
authors: The Persian Gulf Marine Biotechnology Research Center, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran.
authors: Moradali
authors: M
authors: Fouladvand
authors: Department of Statistics, Faculty of Health and Nutrition, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran.
authors: Rahim
authors: R
authors: Tahmasebi
authors: Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors: Ali
authors: A
authors: Heydari
authors: Department of Microbiology and Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors: Jamal
authors: J
authors: Fallahi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000209:etiology*; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010271:Parasites / Q000254:growth & development*; D015995:Prevalence; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects*
keywords: Bushehr; Intestinal parasites; Iran; hemodialysis