Improving soil-transmitted helminths detection in chronic kidney disease patients

Excerpt

We read with great interest the article by Omrani and colleagues [1]. It is estimated that 200 million people are affected by any stage of chronic kidney disease (CKD) worldwide and between 576 and 1121 million people are infected by soil-transmitted helminths (STH) including Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, hookworm and Strongyloides stercoralis. With regard to this burden of disease, appropriate detection of these pathogenic parasites is of paramount interest not only in the prevention of potentially life-threatening conditions (i.e. hyperinfection syndrome by S. stercoralis), but also to avoid complications such as malnutrition, anemia and gastrointestinal symptoms that may increase morbidity in those patients with an underlying chronic disease such as CKD. In spite of the moderate low prevalence rates of STH reported in East Asia [2], it is quite surprising that not a single STH was detected in stool examinations in the study by Omrani et al. The progressive decline in the incidence of STH in Iran, due to the improvement of the sanitary conditions in the last years, could be implicated in this finding. Nonetheless, in a non-endemic scenario like this, high-sensitive parasitological techniques are especially warranted to improve the detection of these parasites. …