Comparison of direct fecal smear microscopy,culture,and polymerase chain reaction for the detection of Blastocystis sp.in human stool samples

• Published in: 亚太热带医药杂志：英文版 no. 10; pp. 780 - 784
• Main Author: Herbert J Santos Windell L Rivera
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Blastocystis; chain; Culture; Direct; fecal; Human; Polymerase; reaction(PCR); Sensitivity; smear; Specificity; stool
• ISSN: 1995-7645; 2352-4146

Objective:To compare the sensitivity and specificity of direct fecal smear microscopy,culture,and polymerase chain reaction in the detection of Blastocystis sp.in human stool.Methods:Human stool samples were collected from a community in San Isidro,Rodriguez,Rizal,Philippines.These samples were subjected to direct fecal smear microscopy,culture and polymerase chain reaction to detect the presence of Blastocystis sp.Results:Of the 110 stool samples collected,28(25%)were detected positive for the presence of Blastocystis sp.by two or more tests.Culture method detected the highest number of Blastocystis-positive stool samples(n=36),followed by PCR of DNA extracted from culture(n=26),PCR of DNA extracted from stool(n=10),and direct fecal smear(n=9).Compared to culture,the sensitivity of the other detection methods were 66.7%for PCR from culture and 19.4%for both PCR from stool and direct fecal smear.Specificity of the methods was high,with PCR from culture and direct fecal smear having97.3%,while PCR from stool at 95.9%.Conclusions:In this study,in vitro culture is the best method for detecting Blastocystis sp.in human stool samples.