Browsing by Author "Rowland, Daniel"

Dientamoeba fragilis is an intestinal parasite that has attracted increasing interest due to its high prevalence and potential to perpetrate long-standing gastrointestinal symptoms. A number of patients have been treated at the Aurora hospital infectious diseases outpatient clinic for dientamoebiasis. Experience has shown that some patients repeatedly fail to respond to treatment. In this retrospective study, we set out to establish whether reinfection from infected family members is a cause of failed treatment. The results show that concurrent infection of multiple family members is not only common, but has a significant effect on treatment results. This suggests that contact tracing should be considered in treatment resistant cases and simultaneous medication of family members is worthwhile. Checking results both immediately and three months post-treatment is not useful. We also investigated the reliability of microscopy for the detection of D. fragilis, reinforcing the view that at least three samples are required.