Evaluation of Feconomics Versus Traditional Techniques for Diagnosis of Intestinal Parasitic Infections

People of all ages are affected by intestinal parasitic infections(IPIs) ; however, children are the most commonly affected, which is linked to their poor hygienic practices, and weak immune status. In children, IPIs are associated with malabsorption, weight loss, anemia, poor growth rate, learning difficulties, mental retardation and intellectual problems . The difficulty of diagnosis is the main problem in the control of intestinal parasitic infections. The choice of a particular technique is usually influenced by affordability, simplicity, cost, sensitivity in addition to the level of technical skills involved. Microscopic examination remains the cornerstone of parasitological diagnosis which is time consuming and requires an experienced observer to identify the organism. Formalin-ether sedimentation technique is commonly used in laboratories owing to its ability to isolate a large variety of parasites. However, it's a labor intensive procedure and is usually associated with hazards of using the inflammable lipid solvents. The drawbacks of the previous techniques have encouraged the development of commercial products such as Feconomics which is a new ready to use kit for concentration of stool samples in parasitological diagnosis.

The aim of the study is :

evaluation of the efficacy of Feconomics technique in comparison to traditional techniques i.e., direct smear and formalin ethyl acetate sedimentation technique for the diagnosis of intestinal parasites in school children.