Evaluation of Prevalence of Parasitic Infection in Lupus Erythematosus Patients in Ahvaz City in 2011-2012

Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease prevalent in many countries. Due to the use of immunosuppressive drugs to treat this disease، such patients are more likely to be afflicted by opportunistic infections and intestinal parasitic diseases. Aim of the current study was to recognize the prevalence of parasitic infection of these patients in Ahvaz city، 2011-2012. The study randomly assigned 100 stool samples from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus admitted to medical centers and hospitals of Ahvaz Imam Khomeini and Golestan. Samples were then sent to Parasitology Laboratory of Ahvaz Medical Sciences University and Lupus erythematosus was confirmed by a rheumatologist physician The samples were tested by direct، sedimentation technique، trichrome andziehl-neelsen staining for microscopic observation. The patients data were obtained by questioner form and descriptive statistical was used for data analyzing. At least 18% of the patients were infected by a single digestive cell. The highest rate of infection applied to Entamoeba Cola by 8% and the lowest applied to Giardia and Cryptosporidium by 2%. Helminthes infections were not observed in this study. Low rate of parasitic infections in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus in this study could be due to rising health care and public health data compared to previous years.