Nashmin Mohemmi
Mohammad Moradi
Alireza Khalilian
Amir Hossein Maghsood
Mohammad Fallah

Introduction: Blastocystis hominis is a parasite found in the stools of human as well as in the stools of other animals and recently its pathogenic potential has been increasingly recognized. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a digestive system’s disorder which is featured by change in bowel habits, abdominal pains and other symptoms similar to Blastocystis hominis infection. There is little information about this syndrome and its etiology is still unknown. This study aims at analyzing the relationship between Blastocystis hominis and IBS. Methods: In a case-control study, a total of ۸۱ patients with IBS and ۸۱ patients with other digestive disorders, but without IBS, who had referred to Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Hamedan City, were selected. The disease was diagnosed by a gastroenterologist in terms of the relevant criteria. Blastocystis hominis infection in this study was diagnosed using stool test through four techniques: direct wet mount, stool culture, formalin-ether concentration and trichrome staining. Results: Totally, ۴۳ women (۵۳%) and ۳۸ men (۴۷%), in the age range of ۱۳ to ۶۴ years old, participated in this study. Using the stool culture technique, as the golden standard, infection in ۳۷ members (۴۵.۶۷%) of the case group and ۱۸ members (۲۲.۲۲%) of the control group was reported, which this difference was significant, statistically (P<۰.۰۰۱). There was difference between case and control groups in terms of Blastocystis infection with all four techniques. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that since the infection rate in the case group was higher than that in the control group, a relationship between Blastocystis hominis infection and IBS is possible. Speaking about infection diagnosis, culture technique was more sensitive than other techniques used to diagnose Blastocystis hominis infection.

Blastocystis Hominis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Parasites, Blastocystis Hominis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Parasites