Prevalence of Intestinal Coccidian Parasites in Immunocompromised Patients in a Tertiary Care Centre in Assam

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of intestinal coccidian parasites in immunocompromised patients with or without diarrhoea at our centre. Materials and Methods: Stool samples were collected from 62 immunocompromised patients with diarrhoea and they were examined for the presence of coccidian parasites by microscopy. Also, 42 control samples from immunocompromised patients without diarrhoea were collected and examined. Results: The prevalence of intestinal coccidian parasites among the 62 immunocompromised patients with diarrhoea was found to be 12.9%. Overall, Cryptosporidium (12.9%) was the most frequently encountered pathogen in the immunocompromised patients with diarrhoea followed by Ancylostoma duodenale (6.5%), Cyclospora (4.8%), Ascaris lumbricoides (4.8%) and 1.6% each of Isospora and Trichuris trichiura. In the control group comprising the immunocompromised patients without diarrhoea, no opportunistic infection was seen by any of the coccidian parasites. The association of coccidian parasites with diarrhoea was significant (P < 0.01) as compared to non coccidian parasites (P > 0.1) .Among all the coccidian parasites, only Cryptosporidium spp. showed significant association with diarrhoea (P < 0.02). Conclusion: This study concluded that among the various intestinal coccidian parasites causing opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients at our centre, Cryptosporidium spp. was the most predominant coccidian parasite strongly associated with diarrhoea.