Endoscopic procedure as a diagnostic tool for intestinal parasitic pathological changes

Parasitic infections of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) may cause severe morbidity and even death in untreated patients. In certain cases, endoscopy may be the only possible option for diagnosis and management of GIT parasitic diseases. This study aimed to elucidate the role of endoscopy in the identification of GIT pathological changes during parasitic infections. Three hundred patients suffering from GIT manifestation were enrolled in this study. Stool samples were collected from all patients and examined for the presence of parasitic stages by direct and concentrated techniques. Parasite-infected patients were further examined by CBC and narrow-band endoscopic procedure. Stool examination has demonstrated parasitic stages in stool samples of 100 (33.3%) patients. Eighty-nine patients (89%) had a single parasitic infection while 11 patients (11%) had mixed infections. Complete blood examination of infected patients was within the normal ranges in almost all types of infections except for eosinophilia in some of them. Upper endoscopic examination revealed that parasitic infections led to various pathological changes in the esophagus (6%), stomach (42%), and duodenum (50%). Colonoscopy revealed abnormal findings at the rectum (25%) and the colon (32%). In conclusion, the endoscopic examination can be considered an important diagnostic option for the detection of pathological changes in GIT during chronic parasitic diseases and can be included in the differential diagnosis of other GIT pathological changes detected by endoscopy.