Cryptosporidium spp. During chemotherapy: A cross-sectional study of 94 patients with malignant solid tumor
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Date
2021
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cryptosporidium spp. is a protozoan parasite that infects many vertebrate animals, including humans. Since Cryptosporidium spp. can cause chronic life-threatening diarrhea and severe malabsorption in immunocompromised patients, we investigated the prevalence of this parasite among patients undergoing chemotherapy for malignant solid tumors. OBJECTIVE: Investigate the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in stool samples. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Tertiary care. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Stool samples were collected from adult patients with malignant solid tumors receiving chemotherapy and diarrhea. Cryptosporidium spp. prevalence was determined using Ziehl-Neelsen staining, ELISA, and real-time PCR targeting of the COWP gene. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in patients undergoing chemotherapy for malignant solid tumors. SAMPLE SIZE: 94 RESULTS: The prevalence was 2.1% (2/94), 5.3% (5/94), and 5.3% (5/94) as detected by Ziehl-Neelsen staining, real-time PCR and ELISA, respectively. The prevalence reached 8.5% (8/94) using all results obtained from the three methods. Among eight positive stool samples, four were positive by at least two different methods (Ziehl-Neelsen staining-ELISA or ELISA-real-time PCR) whereas the remaining four were positive by either ELISA or real-time PCR. CONCLUSION: These findings show the risk of cryptosporidiosis in cancer patients and the necessity to use at least two diagnostic methods during the diagnosis of cryptosporidiosis to reach more accurate and trustworthy results. LIMITATIONS: Further studies with a larger sample size are recommended. Copyright: Copyright © 2021, Annals of Saudi Medicine, Saudi Arabia. This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialNoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND). The details of which can be accessed at http://creativecommons. org/licenses/bync-nd/4.0/
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Animals , Cross-Sectional Studies , Cryptosporidiosis , Cryptosporidium , Diarrhea , Humans , Neoplasms , acute myeloid leukemia , adult , Article , basal cell carcinoma , bladder cancer , brain cancer , breast cancer , cancer chemotherapy , cancer patient , carcinoma , CD4 lymphocyte count , clinical feature , colon cancer , controlled study , cross-sectional study , cryptosporidiosis , Cryptosporidium , diarrhea , disease duration , enzyme linked immunosorbent assay , esophagus cancer , feces analysis , female , human , human cell , larynx cancer , liver cell carcinoma , lung cancer , lymphoma , major clinical study , male , middle aged , multiple myeloma , nonhuman , ovary cancer , pancreas cancer , predictive value , prevalence , prostate cancer , real time polymerase chain reaction , rectum cancer , renal cell carcinoma , sensitivity and specificity , skin cancer , solid malignant neoplasm , staining , stomach cancer , tertiary health care , uterus sarcoma , animal , cryptosporidiosis , diarrhea , genetics , neoplasm