Frequency of giardia lamblia infection in children presented with acute diarrhea to tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background: Giardia lamblia was the most common parasite-caused gastrointestinal ailment in the United States by the late 1980s, and it is now a significant global public health issue. Giardiasis is an infectious condition that may have both short-term and long-term effects. Objective: To assess the frequency of giardia lamblia infection in children presented with acute diarrhea to tertiary care hospital. Methodology: The current Descriptive Cross Sectional study was carried out at the Department of Paediatrics, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar from 21 July, 2019 to 22 January, 2020. The overall Sample Size in the current study was 114. After performing the stool concentration technique using the formol-ether concentration method, trophozoites and cysts of Giardia lamblia were detected using direct microscopy of the smear in saline (0.90% w/v NaCl solution) and Lugols iodine. Data was entered in SPSS version 23.0. Results: In the current study, totally 114 patients were enrolled. Mean and SDs for age was 4.13+1.566. Mean and SDs for weight was 13.21+2.598. Mean and SDs for BMI was 24.93+0.890. Mean and SDs for duration of disease was 7.02+1.540. 43 (37.7%) patients were females and 71 (62.3%) patients were males.