Parasitic infestations in children in a metropolis

Abstract

Even when asymptomatic, intestinal parasitosis can have a significant impact on the health of children. Materials and methods. An analysis of the medical documentation of the children's clinic for 2016—2023 was carried out. Results. It has been established that enterobiasis dominates in children living in St. Petersburg (87.8%—98.8%), the proportion of ascariasis and giardiasis in different years did not exceed 5.2% and 10.0%, respectively. The maximum proportion of those affected by E. vermicularis (50.6%—66.8%) and Giardia (67.3%) was in the age group of 7—14 years, while ascariasis most often affected children 3—6 years old (51.7%). Enterobiasis was more often recorded during annual preventive examinations (September-November) (52.0%—65.9%), ascariasis was detected at a later date — November-January (41.5%), the largest number of episodes of giardiasis was observed in the spring months (53.9%). If helminthic infestations in all cases were asymptomatic and were discovered by chance during a microscopic examination of feces, then in the case of giardiasis, 46.2% of those infected complained of abdominal pain (42.3%), discomfort after eating (25.0%), diarrhea/constipation (21.2%), bloating (19.2%), frequent belching of air (13.5%). Thus, a single microscopic examination of feces is not very informative. Knowledge of the clinical and epidemiological features of parasitic infestations will allow the pediatrician to conduct an in-depth examination of the child to decide on antiparasitic treatment

Keywords

• children
• parasitic infestations
• enterobiasis
• ascariasis
• giardiasis
• strongyloidiasis