The Need For A Better Method: Comparison Of Direct Smear And Formol-Ether Concentration Techniques In Diagnosing Intestinal Parasites

The study compared results of one direct smear and one formol-ether concentration examination executed on each of 103 stool samples from patients attending a hospital and a medical diagnostic laboratory in Owerri. Formol-ether concentration technique detected 65.26% of positive specimens for one or more intestinal parasites. Direct smear was 34.74% effective. A significant number of the infected population was missed by direct smear method. This accounts for the prevalence of intestinal parasites in the studied population, part of which is ensuing from misdiagnosis. Soft stool exposed most of the intestinal parasites encountered in the study more than other consistency types. Hookworm bears the highest occurrence (15.79%) in soft stools and in the entire study (24.21%) as revealed by concentration method. This study furthermore showed that the age group (9-13) has the highest prevalence for intestinal parasites. Formol-ether detected 23.16% prevalence in this age group while direct smear found 14.74%.