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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · J Lab Physicians 2023; 15(04): 503-509
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1768169
Original Article

Spectrum and Trends of Intestinal Parasitic Infections at a Tertiary Care Hospital during Pandemic Times: A Laboratory-Based Retrospective Study

Suneeta Meena
1   Department of Laboratory Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India
,
Jitendra Kumar Meena 
2   Department of Preventive Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Jhajjar, Haryana, India
,
Dinesh Kumar
1   Department of Laboratory Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India
,
Purva Mathur
3   Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Center, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India
› Author Affiliations Funding None.
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Abstract

Introduction Intestinal parasitic infections continue to loom in developing countries with low sanitation and socioeconomic conditions. Pandemic times are especially important to study the prevalence of these pathogens since the focus of all healthcare services was coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and time-trend of intestinal parasitic infections in the capital region of India during the pandemic times.

Methods In this cross-sectional study, a retrospective review based on data from the past 2 years in the post-COVID-19 pandemic was used. Descriptive and time-trend analyses were applied to the data. Time series analysis was analyzed using the best fit autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model to look for seasonality in trends and forecasting.

Results A total of 7267 patients' stool samples over a 2-year pandemic period were included in the study. Intestinal parasites were detected in 11.18% (813/7276) patients. Giardia lamblia (2.28%) and Blastocystis hominis (3.78%) were the predominant ones. Time-trend analysis from 2020 to 2021 using ARIMA model predicted an increasing trend with waning of pandemic. The most prevalent infection was found in the monsoon and autumn months.

Conclusion Rates of infection with Giardia lamblia and Blastocystis hominis have increased in comparison to other protozoan infections like Entamoeba histolytica when compared with prepandemic hospital-based studies. With fading of the pandemic, further increasing trends are predicted.

Keywords

prevalence - intestinal parasites - North India - pandemic


Publication History

Received: 14 October 2022

Accepted: 26 February 2023

Article published online:
25 April 2023

© 2023. The Indian Association of Laboratory Physicians. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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