Study of Blastocystis frequency among IBD patients referred to a gastroenterology center

Background: Blastocystis is the most common anaerobic protozoa living in the large intestine of a broad spectrum of vertebrates. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the Blastocystis infection rate in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. Methods: A total of 80 stool samples were collected from IBD-proved patients. All stool samples were cultivated in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium and checked by light microscopy for detection of Blastocystis. The Correlation between demographic data of IBD patients and Blastocystis was calculated using SPSS 23. Results: The enrolled patients comprised of 52 (65%) men and 28 (35%) women. The study showed Blastocystis in 16/80 (20%) of the samples by microscopic examination and culture method. The parasite was seen among 12 (23.08%) and 4 (14.29%) men and women, respectively. No statistically significant correlation was found between infection with the parasite and animal contact.  Fisher’s exact test represented that there was no correlation between gender and the presence of Blastocystis (p value= 0.397). Fisher’s exact test denoted that there was no statistical correlation between age and the presence of the parasite (p value= 0.130). Conclusions: In this study, Blastocystis was found in 20% of enrolled patients who suffered from IBD. This infection rate was significantly higher than the studies have previously described Blastocystis in this group of patients.