DifferencesI Between The Children Infected With Enterobius Vermicularis and Taenia Saginata

Abstract

Objective: Intestinal parasitosis is a major health problem causing significant morbidities in children, such as malnutrition. It was aimed to examine the children with Enterobius vermicularis and Taenia saginata in this study.Materials and methods: We prospectively evaluated and compared children with E.vermicularis and T.saginata in terms of symptoms, laboratory parameters, and anthropometric measurements. Results: Of the 183 children enrolled, 100 (54.6%) were male. Patients’ ages ranged between 2 and 16 years, with a mean of 7.8±3.5 years. E.vermicularis was present in 116 (%63.4) patients and T.saginata in 67 (36.6%). No difference was determined between the groups in terms of age, gender, or length of symptoms. Increased appetite was more prevalent in patients with T.saginata (p=0.008). Patients with E.vermicularis exhibited higher eosinophilia and IgE levels (p=0.001 and p=0.01, respectively). The mean BMI and BMI Z-score of patients with E.vermicularis were statistically significantly higher than those of the T.saginata group (15.96±2.06 vs. 14.75±2.02 and -0.44±0.98 vs. -1.45±1.35, p lt;0.0001 for both). Patients with T.saginata were also more underweight (p=0.003). Conclusion: Malnutrition despite increased appetite should raise suspicion of T.saginata, while increased levels of IgE and eosinophil count should attract physicians’ attention to E.vermicularis even in asymptomatic patients, especially in endemic countries.

Keywords

• child
• enterobius vermicularis
• intestinal parasitosis
• malnutrition
• taenia saginata
• çocuk
• enterobius vermicularis
• intestinal parazitoz
• malnütrisyon
• taenia saginata