Parasitic Infections in COVID-19 Hospitalized Patients in Bandar Abbas City, Iran.

Background and Aim: COVID-19 has led to a wide range of clinical symptoms, which are increasing in low- and middleincome countries. Parasitic infections are the reasons for the concomitant effect of this disease in these regions, which can reduce or increase the severity of the disease. The present study aimed to determine the clinical features, laboratory findings, and frequency of the intestinal parasites in the COVID-19 patients. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the clinical features, laboratory findings, and frequency of the intestinal parasites in the stool specimens of 150 COVID-19patients, confirmed by PCR and hospitalized in Bandar Abbas hospitals during 2020-2021, were evaluated using direct wet methods with Lugol and physiological saline, formalin ethylacetate concentration technique (FECT), modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining, and trichrome staining. Results& Conclusion: Eighteen (12%) out of 150 patients with COVID-19 were infected with intestinal parasites, among whom the highest frequencies belonged to the intestinal Blastocystis spp. (10 %), and then Giardia lamblia (1.3%), and Trichomonas hominis(0.7%), and some cases with no intestinal helminths were observed. According to the findings, patients with COVID-19 and simultaneous parasite infections had substantially greater rates of decreased appetite (P=0.015), stomach ache (P=0.002), and flatulence (P=0.002) than those without parasitic infections. Based on the laboratory findings, no significant relationship was observed between the two groups of parasites and no parasites. More epidemiological and clinical studies are needed to better understand the status of intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) in the hospitalized COVID19 patients in Bandar Abbas city, Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]