Affiliation:
1. Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA, USA
Abstract
Giardia lamblia (also referred to as Giardia intestinalis and Giardia duodenalis) is the most common intestinal parasite in the world, affecting approximately 200 million people annually. Symptoms of Giardia include foul-smelling diarrhea, abdominal cramping, bloating, gas, and nausea. Although usually self-limiting, Giardia can progress to dehydration, malnutrition, and failure to thrive, especially in immunocompromised individuals. Early diagnosis and treatment is imperative to prevent and control infection of Giardia. Infectious Disease Society of America diagnostic guidelines recommend obtaining stool studies to diagnose Giardia; when stool studies are negative but suspicion remains high, duodenal aspirate microscopy is the only alternative diagnostic strategy suggested. We report a patient diagnosed incidentally with Giardia from a duodenal biopsy specimen obtained during a workup for a gastrointestinal bleed. There are limited cases of Giardia diagnosed by duodenal biopsy reported in the literature. We review studies that suggest duodenal biopsy can be a very sensitive strategy for the diagnosis of Giardia.
Subject
Safety Research,Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality,Epidemiology
Cited by
7 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献