Parasites in nosocomial diarrhoea: are they underestimated?

Nosocomial. diarrhoea, defined as diarrhoea occurring more than 72 h after hospital admission, is reported to account for < 1 % of endemic nosocomial infections and 17 % of epidemic nosocomial. infections. The yield of diagnoses from stool cultures in nosocomial. diarrhoea is low, and information regarding the rote of parasites is limited. We conducted a study to determine the responsible bacterial. and parasitological pathogens from nosocomial. diarrhoea cases in our 2000-bed tertiary care facility over a 16-month period. Of 226 patients, Clostridium difficile toxins A or B were present in 5.5 %, giardia cysts and/or trophozoites in 4.4 %, Blastocytis hominis in 4.4 % and Cryptosporidium sp. in 0.5 % of samples. In conclusion, parasites should be sought in nosocomial. diarrhoea in endemic areas. (c) 2004 The Hospital. Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.