Ten-year prevalence survey of strongyloides stercoralis in patients referred to Rouhani hospital during 2011-2020 years: a brief report

Infection with Strongyloides stercoralis is common in tropical and subtropical regions. To prevent and treat these diseases, information on the distribution and frequency of these parasites in different geographical areas is needed. Due to the importance of diseases in the northern provinces of Iran, the present study was performed to determine the prevalence of Strongyloides stercoralis.

From April 2011 to March 2020, stool samples from patients who were referred to Rouhani hospital in Mazandaran province, Babol, were gathered. For stool samples, microscopic detection was performed immediately using the wet expansion method, followed by a formal-ether concentration process. Based on the sample size calculation, the minimum number of patients with Strongyloides stercoralis infection was considered to be 380 patients from the years 2011-2020. Mean and standard deviation indices were used to describe quantitative data and numbers and percentages were used to describe qualitative data.

Out of the total number of 39,800 archived patient files that were reviewed, a total of 420 (1.05%) patients were confirmed for the presence of Strongyloides stercoralis in their feces. The age range of patients was 3 to 89 years. The population of male patients (249 patients) was higher than females (171 patients). In patients with positive Strongyloides stercoralis, disease symptoms were positive in 206 patients and negative in 214 patients. The most common underlying disease in patients was abdominal pain (220 patients). 271 patients received steroids.

Strongyloides stercoralis infection was detected in the northern region of Iran. The prevalence of this parasite was higher in men, the elderly, and people with underlying comorbidities. These results can be used to identify and compare areas where the prevalence of infection is higher. Therefore, revealing the effect of Strongyloides stercoralis infection on public health makes the need for in-depth clinical and diagnostic studies important. People with chronic diseases, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic, should be screened for parasitic diseases.