14 research outputs found
Comparison of three copromicroscopic methods to assess albendazole efficacy against soil-transmitted helminth infections in school-aged children on Pemba Island
Background The diagnostic accuracy of three faecal egg count techniques (Kato-Katz, McMaster and FLOTAC) to assess albendazole efficacy against soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections was compared. Methods The study is registered with Current Controlled Trials [identifier: ISRCTN90088840]. During September-November 2009, 304 school-aged children on Pemba Island, Tanzania, were screened and those infected with Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworm or Trichuris trichiura were treated with a single dose of albendazole (400 mg). Twenty-one days post-treatment, children provided a single stool sample which was examined using the same diagnostic methods. All stool samples were divided into two aliquots and one was fixed in 5% formalin and examined using FLOTAC and McMaster approximately 6 months after collection. Results Using fresh stool samples, comparable prevalences were demonstrated for the three methods at baseline (90-92.2% for T. trichiura, 41.1-52.8% for hookworm, 32.9-37.2% for A. lumbricoides); FLOTAC was the most sensitive method at baseline and follow-up. Albendazole showed high cure rate (CR) against A.lumbricoides (90-97%), moderate CR against hookworm (63-72%) and very low CR against T.trichiura (6-9%), regardless of the technique used. Egg counts (eggs per gram) at baseline were similar for A. lumbricoides and for hookworm among the three methods, and higher using McMaster and Kato-Katz compared with FLOTAC for T. trichiura. All methods were similar for hookworm and A. lumbricoides egg reduction rate (ERR) estimation, but Kato-Katz indicated a significantly higher ERR than McMaster and FLOTAC for T. trichiura. Preserved stool samples revealed consistently lower FECs at baseline and follow-up for all STHs. Conclusion Further development and validation of standard protocols for anthelminthic drug efficacy evaluation must be pursue
Monitoring drug efficacy against gastrointestinal nematodes when faecal egg counts are low: do the analytic sensitivity and the formula matter?
Comparison of FLOTAC and McMaster techniques for the diagnosis of hookworm infection in humans
Comparison of faecal techniques including FLOTAC for copromicroscopic detection of first stage larvae of Angiostrongylus vasorum
FLOTAC for the diagnosis of Hymenolepis spp. infection : proof-of-concept and comparing diagnostic accuracy with other methods
Hymenolepis nana is the most common cestode parasitizing humans, yet it is under-diagnosed. We determined the optimal flotation solution (FS) for the diagnosis of this intestinal parasite with the FLOTAC method, and compared its diagnostic accuracy with an ether-concentration technique and the Kato-Katz method. Zinc sulphate (specific gravity 1.20) proved to be the best-performing FS. Using this FS, we detected 65 H. nana infections among 234 fixed fecal samples from Tajik and Sahrawi children (prevalence 27.8 %). The ether-concentration technique detected 40 infections (prevalence 17.1 %) in the same samples. Considering the combined results as a reference, the sensitivities of FLOTAC and ether-concentration were 95.6 % and 58.8 %, respectively. The Kato-Katz method resulted in a prevalence of only 8.7 %. In terms of eggs per gram of stool, a significantly (P >0.05) higher value was obtained with the FLOTAC and Kato-Katz techniques compared to ether-concentration. In another study carried out in China, the FLOTAC method detected six Hymenolepis diminuta infections in 302 fecal samples, whereas five samples were found positive with the Kato-Katz technique. We conclude that FLOTAC is an accurate coprodiagnostic technique for H. nana and H. diminuta, two species which join a growing list of intestinal parasites that can be reliably diagnosed by this techniqu
Comparison of three copromicroscopic methods to assess albendazole efficacy against soil-transmitted helminth infections in school-aged children on Pemba Island
The diagnostic accuracy of three faecal egg count techniques (Kato-Katz, McMaster and FLOTAC) to assess albendazole efficacy against soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections was compared.; The study is registered with Current Controlled Trials [identifier: ISRCTN90088840]. During September-November 2009, 304 school-aged children on Pemba Island, Tanzania, were screened and those infected with Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworm or Trichuris trichiura were treated with a single dose of albendazole (400 mg). Twenty-one days post-treatment, children provided a single stool sample which was examined using the same diagnostic methods. All stool samples were divided into two aliquots and one was fixed in 5% formalin and examined using FLOTAC and McMaster approximately 6 months after collection.; Using fresh stool samples, comparable prevalences were demonstrated for the three methods at baseline (90-92.2% for T. trichiura, 41.1-52.8% for hookworm, 32.9-37.2% for A. lumbricoides); FLOTAC was the most sensitive method at baseline and follow-up. Albendazole showed high cure rate (CR) against A. lumbricoides (90-97%), moderate CR against hookworm (63-72%) and very low CR against T. trichiura (6-9%), regardless of the technique used. Egg counts (eggs per gram) at baseline were similar for A. lumbricoides and for hookworm among the three methods, and higher using McMaster and Kato-Katz compared with FLOTAC for T. trichiura. All methods were similar for hookworm and A. lumbricoides egg reduction rate (ERR) estimation, but Kato-Katz indicated a significantly higher ERR than McMaster and FLOTAC for T. trichiura. Preserved stool samples revealed consistently lower FECs at baseline and follow-up for all STHs.; Further development and validation of standard protocols for anthelminthic drug efficacy evaluation must be pursued
FLOTAC for the diagnosis of Hymenolepis spp. infection: proof-of-concept and comparing diagnostic accuracy with other methods.
Hymenolepis nana is the most common cestode parasitizing humans, yet it is under-diagnosed. We determined the optimal flotation solution (FS) for the diagnosis of this intestinal parasite with the FLOTAC method, and compared its diagnostic accuracy with an ether-concentration technique and the Kato-Katz method. Zinc sulphate (specific gravity 1.20) proved to be the best-performing FS. Using this FS, we detected 65 H. nana infections among 234 fixed fecal samples from Tajik and Sahrawi children (prevalence 27.8 %). The ether-concentration technique detected 40 infections (prevalence 17.1 %) in the same samples. Considering the combined results as a reference, the sensitivities of FLOTAC and ether-concentration were 95.6 % and 58.8 %, respectively. The Kato-Katz method resulted in a prevalence of only 8.7 %. In terms of eggs per gram of stool, a significantly (P <0.05) higher value was obtained with the FLOTAC and Kato-Katz techniques compared to ether-concentration. In another study carried out in China, the FLOTAC method detected six Hymenolepis diminuta infections in 302 fecal samples, whereas five samples were found positive with the Kato-Katz technique. We conclude that FLOTAC is an accurate coprodiagnostic technique for H. nana and H. diminuta, two species which join a growing list of intestinal parasites that can be reliably diagnosed by this technique