Abstract
Stool examinations forEntameba Histolytica were performed in 72 patients with chronic abdominal symptoms and in 149 asymptomatic controls. The prevalence of amebae in the symptomatic group was 9.7% and in the control group 11.4%. All symptomatic subjects received a course of antiamebic therapy, after which their stools were examined again for amebae, and their symptoms reevaluated without knowledge of parasitologic findings. When amebae were found, there was no correlation between the effects of therapy on the amebae and its effect on the symptoms. Even when amebae were not found, many patients experienced symptomatic relief after therapy. A review of data from other studies, as well as from our own findings, led us to question the existence of the clinical syndrome, termed “chronic amebiasis.”
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Gilat, T., Hadas, N., Haberman, R. et al. Chronic amebiasis. Digest Dis Sci 17, 37–42 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02239257
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02239257