Enteroparasites in patients with AIDS and/or HTLV hospitalized in Maceió, Alagoas state, Brazil (Atena Editora)

Abstract

Introduction: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) caused by HIV and infection by the human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) provokes immunological deficiencies that expose infected individuals to opportunistic diseases. Intestinal parasites are among the frequent complications in this population. Objectives: determine the frequency of parasitic infections in patients with AIDS and/or HTLV in a referral hospital for infectious diseases in Maceió, Brazil. Methodology: quantitative cross-sectional study conducted with patients hospitalized between 2018 and 2021. Coproparasitological tests were performed with the fecal samples provided by the participants. Concomitantly, a questionnaire was applied to obtain a sociodemographic characterization of the sample and identify the risk factors for parasitic infections. The questionnaire was organized with dependent variables between parasite-infected and non-infected individuals. The results were analyzed statistically using Fisher’s exact test at a 5% significance level (p < 0.05). Results: The sample consisted of 123 participants, 32 of whom were infected by intestinal parasites. The most frequent were the protozoa Entamoeba histolytica/díspar (18%) and Endolimax nana (16%) and the opportunistic Cystoisospora belli (10%); among the helminths is the family Ancylostomatidae (12%) and Strongyloides stercoralis (8%). With respect to the independent variables analyzed, rural municipalities of the state, adobe brick dwellings and diarrheic stools were statistically significant. Conclusions: The results obtained in the present study demonstrate the importance of implementing routine diagnosis of enteroparasites for patients with AIDS and other immunodeficiency diseases, using techniques to detect opportunistic parasites, which may lead the patient to severe clinical disorders or death, when not duly diagnosed and treated.