Incidence of Pseudomycelium of <i>Candica albicans</i> in Stools of Children with Persistent Diarrhea in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Persistent diarrhea has always been a challenge to both patient and the clinicians. The challenge is more pronounced when children are involved. To overcome this challenge, investigations should be made especially to rule out the involvement of C. albicans, an opportunistic fungus.
Objective: To investigate the involvement of C.albicans in persistent diarrhea among children admitted in Lagos public hospitals.
Methods: The stool macroscopy, microscopy, culture, and germ tube tests were done on the stool samples and their isolates. Appropriate biochemical and serological tests were also carried out on the isolates from the stool samples of the 1000 children admitted because of persistent diarrhea. Ten public hospitals were used with 100samples coming from each hospital but different patients. Equal number of male and female stool samples were collected and studied.
Results: Out of the 1000 stool samples, 37% showed the yeast non- infective form of C.albicans while 43% showed the mycelia infective form and 20% showed the absence of both. Among the 20% non-C.albicans isolates were Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli which had a dismal 8% and Campylobacter jejuni,12%. Children within the ages of not more than 2years were involved especially those of 11 2 years.The males were more affected than the females, the possible reasons of which were discussed.
Conclusion: C.albicans was more associated with persistent diarrhea in children than any other causative agent of diarrhea and was incited by the mycelial form of the fungus.Diarrheal candidiasis was diagnosed based on the presence of mycelium of the yeast

Keywords: Children, persistent, diarrhea, c.albicans, mycelium.