Pattern of Intestinal Parasitic Infections at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and its Primary Health Clinics Across Saudi Arabia

Background Intestinal parasites are considered one of the most common infections worldwide, 3.5 billion people are considered as affected and 450 million are considered ill as a result of these infections. Objective This study aimed to undertake an epidemiological survey of intestinal parasitic infections in a tertiary care hospital King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (KAMC) and its primary health clinics from January 2007 to December 2012. Methods This is a retrospective cross sectional study from all patients records and microbiology data from January 2007 until December 2012 regarding all intestinal parasites isolated at KAMC laboratory and its primary health clinics. The samples included pediatrics, adults and elderly from in and out-patient clinics. We evaluated the frequency of organisms involved and associated it with patients nationality, gender and age. Results All positive samples for intestinal parasites were included which was 688 samples. Giardia Lamblia (51 %) was the most common encountered parasite followed by hookworms-Necator or Ancylostoma (13 %) and Trichuris trichiura (8 %) while Taenia species (0.1 %) exhibited the minimum prevalence. Males were more affected by Giardia Lamblia than females (33 % and 18 %, respectively). Moreover, male were more affected by hookworms than females (11 % and 1.5 %, respectively). The mean age for infection was 23 years (15.53 SD) for both genders. Among positive cases, The infection rate was the highest in 25-34 years age group (29 %) followed by 7-17 years age group (22 %) while greater than65 years age group showed the least infection rate which accounted for 2 %. Giardia Lamblia was the most common parasitic infection across all age groups. Conclusion Giardia Lambila was found to be the commonest etiological agent of intestinal parasitic diseases among the study population. There is an extensive need for multi-institutional collaborative studies to get more valuable information on our population to identify risk factors and prevention strategies.