Cryptosporidiosis and presence of dehydration in hospitalized adult patients due to diarrhea in the Infectious Diseases ward of Hajar Hospital, Shahre-kord, Iran

Cryptosporidium, a protozoa coccidian, has recently been recognized as an important cause of acute and chronic diarrhea leading to dehydration. Since there was no survey about clinical symptoms of this parasite in adult patients in Chahar-mahal and Bakhtiari province, this study was carried out to define the clinical manifestation of Cryptosporidiosis in these areas. In this cross-sectional and descriptive study, 156 patients hospitalized in the Infectious Diseases ward of Shahre-kord Hajar Hospital from May 2009 to April 2010 due to diarrhea were enrolled. Clinical information was documented; stool samples were collected from participants and tested by commercial ELISA kit to detect Cryptosporidium Surface Antigen (CSA). Data were analyzed by SPSS version 13. One hundred and fifty-six samples were collected; 10 samples were excluded due to insufficient amount or incomplete clinical information. Out of 146 stool samples tested for the presence of Cryptosporidium Surface Antigen, 5 samples (3.5%) were infected with Cryptosporidium (including 3 men and 2 women). There was a statistically significant association between Cryptosporidiosis and dehydration, and also between chronic diarrhea and keeping animals at home. However no significant difference was seen between infection with the parasite and the place of living, previous hospitalization in the last 3 months, history of previous diarrhea in the past 3 months, sex and occupation. The frequency of Cryptosporidium in adult patients in this survey was similar to other studies around Iran and the world. We found a significant association between Cryptosporidiosis and dehydration with more cases of dehydration in patients infected with Cryptosporidium.