What tests should be taken to identify worms

What tests should be taken to identify worms?

Worm tests must be performed regularly to identify the disease in a timely manner. The best known of these is fecal analysis done before employment or going to a sanatorium, but this is not the only and not the most reliable way to identify parasites. The most accurate answer will be given by a combination of tests.

What worm tests are there

The list of examinations that must be undertaken to identify parasites is quite long.
The main ones are:

1. Stool analysis, also known as worm eggs, is the most common method. Advantages - mass use, no need for complex equipment. Minus - lack of accuracy;
2. ELISA, known as a blood test for worms. Pros - high accuracy. Cons - reveals only certain stages of parasite development, in other cases the result will be questionable;
3. Analyzes of other biological media (urine, sputum, duodenal contents, epidermis). Pros - allow you to identify parasites in those localizations that are inaccessible to other analyzes. Cons - associated with significant inconvenience to the patient.

Typically, a patient is prescribed a combination of several tests to identify the parasite. The recovery criterion is considered to be a negative ELISA result and several negative results of the study of the biological environment in which the worms were detected.

Analysis of feces on worm eggs

Most worms live in the gut, so the most common test for worms is stool testing. It is prescribed for routine medical examinations for adults and children, before being sent to a sanatorium or children's camp, as part of a health booklet, during hospitalization. Also, this analysis is taken by people who have been in contact with infected patients, who have eaten untested food, who have noticed the characteristic symptoms of worms.

There is no need to prepare for the analysis, you can collect feces at any time of the day, but the most indicative is the morning feces. You should wash your perineum just before giving birth to avoid impurities in your urine and discharge from your genitals.

Worm analysis feces are collected in a separate container. It is sealed, and a special spoon is attached to collect the material. To collect as informative a piece of material as possible, you need to take a sample from the middle part of the feces. The container should be approximately one-third full. You must deliver it to the lab the same day.

In the laboratory, a specialist examines the feces under a microscope and identifies the worm eggs in it. Most of them have a characteristic shape that allows you to accurately determine the type of worm. Based on the results of the analysis, a conclusion is made about the absence of eggs or about their presence and type, after which treatment is prescribed.

This is the most common but least accurate worm test. The reason is that there may be no eggs in the part that entered the bowl, despite the fact that there are worms. Therefore, if the patient complains of characteristic symptoms or has come into contact with the source of the infection, it is necessary to undergo 5-6 tests at intervals of 2-3 days. In this case, the probability of detecting parasites is significantly increased. Along with the study of feces, other diagnostic procedures are prescribed.

Skin scraping

This analysis usually complements the stool analysis. The most accurate result is achieved when diagnosing worms that lay eggs on the surface of the skin near the anus. Indications for such analysis are routine examination of children and adults, registration of the child in kindergarten, school, camp or sanatorium, hospitalization of children and adults, suspicion of pinworm infection (itching in the anus, digestive disorders, contact with sick people). Children most often suffer from this disease, which explains the name of the worm (baby pinworm).

No need to prepare for worm analysis, you should not wash the perineum - so it is possible to wash the eggs of parasites, you should refrain from bathing or showering the night before. The analysis is done in the morning. A special film is used that collects material from the skin of the intergluteal fold. The study is also performed under a microscope. It does not detect other helminthiases than pinworms.

Urine analysis

This examination is rarely prescribed, as parasites almost never live in the urine. There are possible situations when pinworms are found in the urine analysis, but this indicates a violation of the rules for passing the analysis - parasites and their eggs enter the vessel from the skin of the perineum. This situation most often occurs in girls, less often in boys.

But there are still indications for testing. Some tropical parasites live in the kidneys and urinary organs, which a person "rewards" by traveling to Asian and African resorts. With the increasing availability of exotic recreational areas, the spread of parasites uncharacteristic of our country is also growing. For this reason, it is advisable to take a urine and blood test for earthworms after traveling to resorts.
Types of worms found in urine:

• trichomonas;
• Distomum hematobia;
Filaria sanguinis hominis; Taqnia echinococcus.

Also in the urine may be eggs of liver parasites - echinococcus and fluke.

Sputum analysis

There are a number of parasites that spend all or part of their lives in the lungs. The symptomatology of their appearance is not characteristic - catarrhal phenomena (inflammation, cough, wheezing) develop in the bronchi. Haemoptysis, pneumonia of unknown origin, and other pulmonary phenomena may be observed.
Parasites detected by sputum worm test:

• Ascaris - in the larval stage they need oxygen;
• Echinococci and alveococci - tissue parasites that live in parenchymal organs, including the lungs;
• Dwarf fluffy - lives mainly in the lungs;
• Strongyloidosis, necatorosis - parasitosis, which is characterized by intestinal localization, and the location in the lungs is considered atypical.

No special preparation is required to collect the sputum, but it is advisable to brush your teeth and take the material in the morning. Before that, it is useful to drink a lot of fluids - this improves the expectoration of sputum. The collection container must be clean, but not necessarily sterile - bacteria do not play a role in the diagnosis. In this case, the parasites themselves and their eggs are discovered. If the patient cannot cough up the sputum, it is removed from the trachea by vacuum suction.

It is possible to use drugs that improve the discharge of sputum, stimulate its formation in order to obtain more accurate results of analysis for worms. Combined with a worm blood test it gives very accurate results. Unlike examining the stool, eggs are more likely to be found.

Blood test

ELISA test or blood test for worms is the most accurate method for their determination. Helminths cause a strong reaction of the immune system - the content of eosinophilic leukocytes increases, the production of immunoglobulins increases and specific antibodies to parasites appear. An ELISA method was built on their detection.

Antibodies to parasites are extremely specific - they can be unambiguously diagnosed, while they are present in the blood only in the presence of parasites and within 3 weeks after disappearance.

Blood from a vein is needed for analysis. No special training is required. The result can be obtained within two days. The accuracy is close to 100%, the specificity of the antibody does not allow a wrong result. The criterion for recovery is a negative result one month after treatment.

Analysis of duodenal contents

The bile ducts and pancreas open into the duodenum. These organs are often affected by echinococcosis and opisthorchiasis. Parasites lay eggs that pass through ducts into the intestines. The technique of analyzing the contents of the duodenum on worms enables the detection of these diseases much more precisely than the analysis of feces.

The material is taken with a duodenal tube on an empty stomach. If the patient has a pronounced gag reflex, pain relief is applied. The procedure is quite uncomfortable, so it is resorted to only in those cases when the results of other examinations are doubtful.

When you need to be tested for worms

Worm tests should be performed in the following situations:

• The patient has symptoms of helminth infection;
• The patient was in contact with sources of invasion (sick people, untested products, areas with unfavorable sanitary environment);
• Confirmation is required that the patient is not a source of infection (employment, health records, recreation outside the city, hospitalization).

How to test for worms

To be tested for worms, you must have a referral from your GP. Most examinations do not require preparation, and if there are nuances, the doctor will explain them when prescribing the study. Indications are needed for the doctor to write a referral.

In commercial clinics, you can take the test regardless of the indication. The price varies considerably. The time to get the results of feces and scraping is about a week, the analysis of urine, sputum, blood is about 2 days, depending on the workload of the laboratory.

Which helminths can be detected by tests

Worm analysis allows the identification of most types of parasites - intestinal and non-digestive forms. The most accurate is a blood test for worms that allows you to identify parasites.