Often those who are suspected of carrying the simplest parasites are advised to donate blood to lamblia. Such a study is called an enzyme immunoassay, it helps with a probability of 85% to detect the presence of flagellate microorganisms at the earliest stages of infection, and also to identify at what stage of development a parasitic infection is. It is these purposes that are pursued by physicians in choosing a designated method for examining the patient. This article will help you understand how the procedure is going, how its indicators are deciphered, what preparation is required to pass a blood test for giardiasis.
So, the analysis of blood on giardia in children is carried out in two cases:
- When the carrier is detected at the earliest stages( in the first weeks after infection).
- If necessary, identify in which phase the infection develops: acute or chronic.
The accuracy of the answers to the tasks posed depends on the choice of the treatment regimen. That is why when suspicions of giardiasis in children and in adult patients necessarily take blood for analysis. The fence is made from the ulnar vein on an empty stomach. Answering the question, where to donate blood to Giardia, doctors recommend to go to the polyclinics at the place of residence, to register for an appointment with pediatricians or therapists. They will recommend where to go with a similar problem. Many clinics now have well-equipped laboratories capable of taking blood and deciphering the data. If there are no such conditions, patients are redirected to city or regional hospitals, where there are infectious departments, or to specialized private laboratories that can conduct not only general and biochemical fence, but also conduct IFA.
How to prepare for delivery of blood for giardiasis?
In order for the analysis to be reliable, it is important to properly prepare for blood donation and observe a number of simple conditions:
- Two to three days before the procedure, it is necessary to go on a diet, completely from eating fatty foods, fried foods, spicy and salty seasonings, mayonnaise.
- Adults are advised not to smoke and drink alcohol. Do not drink these days coffee and strong black tea.
- It is necessary that the last meal be made no later than 12 hours before the blood test for lamblia.
- It is undesirable later than two days before blood sampling for giardiasis to undergo a fluorography, to do a biopsy, to take any physiotherapeutic procedures.
- In order to obtain the most reliable indicators, it is impossible to take antibiotics and some other medical preparations on the eve of donating blood for giardiasis( their list should be known in advance in the laboratory).If the children are prescribed pills for medical reasons, you do not need to cancel their admission, but it's important to inform the doctor and the laboratory technician immediately before giving blood.
Decoding of the blood test on the lamblia
The interpretation of the results of the blood test on the lamblia makes it clear whether the material provided contains antibodies that appear in the human blood after infection with protozoan parasites. It is the amount of antibodies, as well as the classes of immunoglobulins that make it possible to determine at what stage of development the infection is, to what extent the organism is affected.
Immunoglobulins( antibodies) are labeled and denoted by the Latin letters Ig. Classes of antibodies also have the letter name( class "A", "M", "G").If IgM compounds are found in the blood of a child, it is an acute phase of giardiasis. Immunoglobulins of class "M" appear first. The interpretation of the analysis will show them on the tenth day after infection. Immunoglobulins class "G" - IgG - appear in the blood when the lambliasis passes into a chronic stage. The longer lambliasis develops, the denser the picture becomes of the presence of antibodies of IgG class in the blood. If the therapy is chosen correctly, the density of IgG antibodies is reduced. That is why the described survey helps to determine the effectiveness of the chosen therapy. Immunoenzyme analysis is done within two days.
Norm lamblia in the blood
When it is possible to talk about the presence of lamblia in the body? There is a scale, which is formed on the concept of the coefficient of positivity:
- When lamblia is not present in the blood, the coefficient of positivity does not exceed 0.85 hOpt.
- Indicator 1xOpt and above indicates the presence of parasitic infection.
- If the decryption gives a result from 0,85хОПд to 1хОПд, it means that the patient is either already healed of lambliasis, or he is diagnosed with carriage of protozoa( the phase in which parasitism of simple flagellar microorganisms does not cause pathological changes).
When receiving similar results, the patient will take a blood test for giardiasis one more time in a week. It is advisable, together with repeated ELISA, to pass also the analysis of feces to cysts. Such a survey will allow to determine with accuracy to 95% whether there is lamblia or not.
Sometimes, to confirm the diagnosis, children are assigned one additional blood test - a study of the level of eosinophils. With giardiasis, a high number of eosinophils are detected. And this is another indirect confirmation of the presence of Giardiasis.
What should I do if I have a positive blood test for giardiasis?
Many parents, getting their hands on deciphering the tests, are wondering what to do when the lamblias are found in the child's blood, whether or not to treat a parasitic infection. Some pediatricians believe that answering these questions is necessary, based on the results of the research. In the presence of carrier and the absence of pronounced symptoms, it is not necessary to treat the infection. In the world more than a third of the population of the whole planet peacefully coexist with the simplest parasites. A high immune system of children is able to cope with lamblia on its own, so very often self-healing occurs without the use of highly toxic medication.
Infectionists and epidemiologists talk about the need for drug therapy when children and patients with age-old patients have pronounced symptoms of intestinal infection. It begins with the elimination of vivid manifestations of pathology( digestive disorders, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, headaches).First, the work of the gastrointestinal tract is normalized, and only then, under the supervision of a doctor, antiprotozoal drugs are administered. At the final stage, rehabilitation is carried out. It is important to eliminate the consequences of intoxication provoked by parasitism of lamblia and their death caused by the use of medications. Elimination of the chronic stage requires a systematic approach.
A detailed story about where the smallest parasites come from, how dangerous they are, how a blood test for giardiasis is performed, what it helps to identify, what actions need to be taken, after receiving a positive response, will allow to properly prepare for the procedure.