Microscopy-based techniques: A reliable method for detecting Blastocystis sp. Infection

Microscopy technique is widely used in the detection of Blastocystis sp. infection. This study was performed to compare two microscopy-based techniques; in vitro cultivation of faecal specimens in Jones' medium (IVC) followed by Wheatley Trichrome staining and fixed-PVA faecal specimens (PVA) followed by Wheatley Trichrome staining with single-round polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as the reference technique. Examination was performed on 466 faecal samples obtained from Orang Asli community in Pahang, Malaysia. Detection rate of Blastocystis sp. was highest in IVC (35.6%) followed by PVA (20.0%). Single-round PCR detected 41.0% of the faecal specimens. The sensitivity and specificity of PVA and IVC compared to the reference technique were 75.3% (95% CI: 65.2-83.6) and 68.5% (CI: 63.7-73.3), and 88.6% (CI: 82.7-93.0) and 86.3% (CI: 81.9-90.0) respectively. The agreement between the reference technique and PVA showed fair statistically significant agreement by Cohen Kappa statistics of (K=0.318, p<0.001), meanwhile substantial statistically significant agreement was observed between PCR and IVC by Cohen Kappa (K=0.727, p<0.001). Therefore, in vitro cultivation in Jones' medium followed by Wheatley Trichrome staining of faecal specimens should be used as a screening technique in the detection Blastocystis sp. infections. � 2017 Oriental Scientific Publishing Company. Al rights reserved.