title: [Investigation of the presence of Blastocystis spp. in stool samples with microscopic, culture and molecular methods].
abstract: Blastocystis species are enteric protozoa frequently detected in human and animals. Seventeen subtypes (STs) have now been identified, nine of them isolating from humans. The pleomorphic structure and genetic diversity of Blastocystis spp. and the absence of standardized diagnostic methods complicate the evaluation of current data. Microscopic methods such as native-lugol and trichrome staining are most frequently used methods in routine diagnosis, while culture and molecular methods are preferred for research purposes. The aims of this study were to investigate the presence of Blastocystis spp. in the stool samples of patients with gastrointestinal complaints by microscopic and culture methods, and to detect the subtypes of isolates by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A total of 350 stool samples collected from patients with diarrhea (n= 157) and without diarrhea (n= 193) were included in the study. Presence of Blastocystis spp. in the samples were investigated by native-lugol examination, trichrome staining and direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) methods. Ringer's solution containing 10% horse serum and 0.05% asparagine was used for cultivation. The cultures were evaluated after 3-4 days of incubation at 37°C by microscopic examination. The subtypes of Blastocystis spp. strains isolated from the cultures have been identified by PCR using sequence-tagged site primers. A total of 66 (19%) stool samples, of them 26 (16.6%) were from diarrheal and 40 (21%) from non-diarrheal cases, yielded Blastocystis sp. growth in culture. Among the evaluated samples, 12% (42/350) were found positive with native-lugol examination, 17% (58/350) with trichrome staining, and 19% (66/350) with DFA method. The agreement of culture and native-lugol method was estimated as strong (κ= 0.752), while it was very strong between culture with trichrome staining and DFA methods (κ= 0.922 and κ= 1.00, respectively). When the culture was accepted as reference method, the sensitivity and specificity rates of native-lugol method were 65% and 100%, trichrome staining method were 88% and 100%, and DFA method were 100% and 100%, respectively. Forty-three (65%) of Blastocystis spp. positive samples were subtyped by PCR, while 23 isolates could not be subtyped. The most frequent detected subtype was ST3 (12/43; 28%), followed by ST1 (6/43; 13.9%), ST4 (5/43; 11.6%) and ST7 (5/43; 11.6%), ST2 (3/43; 7%) and ST6 (1/43; 2.3%). ST5 was not detected in this study and 11 (25.6%) samples have been identified to have mixed subtypes. The differences of Blastocystis spp. positivity rates and the distribution of the subtypes between the patients with or without diarrhea were not found statistically significant (p> 0.05). In our study, ST3 was the most frequently identified Blastocystis spp. subtype, similar to the previous national studies, however ST6 and ST7 have been identified for the first time. In conclusion, as the sensitivity of native-lugol examination is low, culture is time-consuming and laborious and PCR methods are costly and non-standardized, rapid, practical and high sensitive DFA is considered as the favourable method in the diagnosis of Blastocystis spp. in routine laboratories.
authors.forename: Gülcan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Adıyaman Korkmaz
authors.affiliation: Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Microbiology, Ankara, Turkey. alfunda@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Funda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Doğruman Al
authors.forename: İpek
authors.initials: İ
authors.lastname: Mumcuoğlu
mesh_terms: D001391:Azo Compounds; D016844:Blastocystis / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016776:Blastocystis Infections / Q000469:parasitology*; D004396:Coloring Agents; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000469:parasitology*; D004801:Eosine Yellowish-(YS); D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology*; D019085:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Direct; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D007454:Iodides; D008739:Methyl Green; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D001391:Azo Compounds; D004396:Coloring Agents; D007454:Iodides; C017768:trichrome stain; D008739:Methyl Green; C010389:Lugol's solution; D004801:Eosine Yellowish-(YS)