Thyroid Hormone Indices in Children Infected with Giardiasis and Amoebiasis in Karbala, Iraq

Background: Giardia lamblia and Entamoeba histolytica are important intestinal protozoa that cause public health problems in most developing countries. Both causing diarrhea with the majority of patients being children. Up to now few reports about hormonal alterations induced by G.lamblia and E.histolytica infection have been described. We study the alterations in the levels of Free Thyroxine and Free Triiodothyronine in blood of children infected with Giardiasis and Amoebiasis Objective: To evaluate thyroid hormone indices including the free thyroxin (FT4) and free triiodothyronine (FT3) in children suffering from diarrheadue to G.lamblia and E.histolytica, and compared the results with data obtained from a sex and age matched parasite-free control group. Design: This work was a hospital based cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in Karbala teaching hospital for children (Karbala, Iraq) during June to December, 2012.Stool specimens were collected from symptomatic 184 child, aged 6 months to 14 years attending the out patients clinics and complaining from diarrhea confirmed to be positive for G.lamblia and E.histolytica in different stages of the parasites. The free thyroxin (FT4) and free triiodo thyronine (FT3) measurement done for the diarrheal group by menividus technique and compared the results with data obtained from 27, sex and age matched parasite-free children as a control group.Results: In this study was found significance difference in the dependent means at ( P ? 0.05 ) of the level of number Lymphocyte between children infected with protozoa( E. histolytica and G. lamblia) in compare with the normal groups and significant changes in the level of hormones Triiodothyronine (T3) and hyroxin(T4) in blood sample from children infected with E. histolytica and no significant changes in the level of thyroid stimulating hormones (TSH) between children infected with protozoa(G. lamblia and E. histolytica) compare with the normal group. but there is significant changes in level of hormone in chronic stage of G. lamblia when compered between stage of parasite in the infected children.