TABLE 4.
Association between intestinal parasitic infections and GI symptoms in PCVs in Guatemalaa
| Type of episode (n) | No. (%) of episodes that were associated with:
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GI symptoms | ≥3 LWS | Persistence of symptoms | Proximity to a diarrheal episode | Stool specimen classified as loose or wateryb | |
| B. hominis episodes | |||||
| All evaluable episodes (28)c | 18 (64.3) | 12 (42.9) | 5 (17.9) | 9 (32.1) | 4 (14.3) |
| Without coinfection with nonpathogens (22)d | 14 (63.6) | 10 (45.5) | 4 (18.2) | 7 (31.8) | 4 (18.2) |
| Composite nonpathogen episodes | |||||
| All evaluable episodes (24)c | 18 (75.0) | 9 (37.5) | 3 (12.5) | 6 (25.0) | 5 (20.8) |
| Without coinfection with B. hominis (13) | 10 (76.9) | 5 (38.5) | 2 (15.4) | 3 (23.1) | 3 (23.1) |
| Composite C. parvum and G. lamblia episodes | |||||
| All evaluable episodes (10)e | 9 (90.0) | 6 (60.0) | 3 (30.0) | 5 (50.0) | 4 (40.0) |
| Without coinfection with B. hominis or nonpathogens (5) | 4 (80.0) | 2 (40.0) | 2 (40.0) | 2 (40.0) | 2 (40.0) |
See Materials and Methods for information on which GI symptoms were counted; how diarrheal episodes, composite episodes with nonpathogens and pathogens, and coinfection were defined; and which episodes were considered evaluable. Composite episodes were created to increase the number of episodes per category that could be included in the analyses. None of the comparisons (e.g., the likelihood that episodes with B. hominis versus those with pathogens were associated with symptoms) were statistically significant. All P values were >0.20, except the one for the comparison of the likelihood that the evaluable B. hominis episodes versus the evaluable pathogen episodes were associated with LWS, for which the P value was 0.17.
Refers to the consistency of the first stool examined in the episode.
Besides the exclusionary criteria in Materials and Methods, episodes were excluded if the PCV was coinfected during the window period with a pathogenic parasite.
The densities of B. hominis in the first stool in these 22 episodes were classified as many (8 episodes), moderate (6 episodes), few (4 episodes), and rare (4 episodes) (for details of the classification of densities, see Materials and Methods). Of the eight episodes with many B. hominis organisms, five episodes were associated with GI symptoms, and two of these episodes were associated with persistent symptoms.
None of the PCVs who had these episodes were coinfected during the window period with another pathogenic parasite.