Helminths, Protozoa, and Fungi Diagnosis Flashcards
Taenia solium…aka pork tapeworm
Diagnosis: Fecal samples of proglottids
Schistosoma japonicum…aka blood fluke
Diagnosis: Stool or urine samples of spiny eggs
Ascaris lumbricoides…aka giant ascarid
Diagnosis: Eggs in stool, larvae in sputum, adult worms passed through the stool, nose or mouth
Necator americanus…aka hookworm disease
Diagnosis: Eggs in stool and blood in feces
Enterobius vermicularis…aka pinworm
Diagnosis: ‘Tape Test’
Wuchereria bancrofti…aka elephantiasis
Diagnosis: Blood samples of microfilariae and antibodies to detect
Naegleria fowleri
Diagnosis: Corneal scrapings, cerebrospinal fluid, or biopsy material
Trypanosoma cruzi…aka Chagas’ disease
Diagnosis: Blood samples by PCR and can be confirmed by microscopic identification of flagellated trypanosomes or the detection of their antigens in blood, lymph, spinal fluid, or tissue biopsy.
Trypanosoma brucei gambiense…aka African sleeping sickness
Diagnosis: Blood, lymph, spinal fluid, or tissue biopsy
Giardia intestinalis…aka beaver fever/backpacker’s fever
Diagnosis: Relies on immunoassays, identification using gastrointestinal pathogen panel, less reliably on stool specimens
Trichomonas vaginalis
Diagnosis: Diagnostic through actively motile trophozoites in vaginal and urethral secretions.
Plasmodium falciparum…aka Malaria
Diagnosis: Blood smears identification of trophozoites and other stages of Plasmodium.
Toxoplasma gondii
Diagnosis: Tissue biopsies of identification of parasites
Histoplasma capsulatum
Diagnosis: Skin scrapings, sputum, cerebrospinal fluid, and various tissues
Coccidioides immitis
Diagnosis: Collected samples of KOH- or GMS-
Candida albicans
Diagnosis: Diagnose through the clusters of budding yeasts and pseudohyphae
Trichophyton rubrum
Diagnosis: Identification of hyphae or arthroconidia in patient samples
