Direct fecal smears can be used as a quick screening test to check for intestinal parasites. While it has advantages like detecting motile organisms and protozoa, it also has disadvantages like small sample size limiting usefulness and potential for false negative results. The process involves taking a small amount of feces and mixing with saline or staining on a slide before examining under a microscope, where parasites or their eggs/larvae may be observed.
Direct fecal smears can be used as a quick screening test to check for intestinal parasites. While it has advantages like detecting motile organisms and protozoa, it also has disadvantages like small sample size limiting usefulness and potential for false negative results. The process involves taking a small amount of feces and mixing with saline or staining on a slide before examining under a microscope, where parasites or their eggs/larvae may be observed.
Direct fecal smears can be used as a quick screening test to check for intestinal parasites. While it has advantages like detecting motile organisms and protozoa, it also has disadvantages like small sample size limiting usefulness and potential for false negative results. The process involves taking a small amount of feces and mixing with saline or staining on a slide before examining under a microscope, where parasites or their eggs/larvae may be observed.
Direct fecal smears can be used as a quick screening test to check for intestinal parasites. While it has advantages like detecting motile organisms and protozoa, it also has disadvantages like small sample size limiting usefulness and potential for false negative results. The process involves taking a small amount of feces and mixing with saline or staining on a slide before examining under a microscope, where parasites or their eggs/larvae may be observed.
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Amal Almuhana
2012 Direct fecal smears Direct fecal smears can be used as a quick screening test to check for any intestinal parasite. 1) Advantages:-
Useful for detecting motile
organisms. Protozoa are often detected via a direct fecal smear. Quick process. 2) Disadvantages
Small size of the sample limits its
usefulness. You may get inaccurate results. If your examination finds no evidence of a parasite but the patient actually harbors the parasite, then the results are called a false negative result. False negative results are common with direct fecal smears. When collecting Fecal sample from animal in question. Relatively fresh May preserve in refrigerator if exam not immediate. Free from debris Storage Plastic or glass jar/ vial Plastic cup Plastic bag 1) Put small amount of feces on glass slide. 2) Mix with drop of saline. 3) Place cover slip on mixtures. 4) Observe under microscope.
If the feces is already in a liquid state
because the animal has diarrhea, obviously no fluid is needed to spread the feces over the slide. feces+ saline on the Mix until it is slide dispersed
Examine under microscope
1) A wet mount, or can be
2) Dried and stained. The fecal smear may be examined in its wet state by simply placing a cover slip over the drop of wet fecal material.
This method is most
useful looking for trophozoites which can be observed by their characteristic movement and appearance. A drop of stain can be added before the cover slip is placed or after having examined the unstained preparation. The stain will diffuse and then you can examine it. The iodine will stain the organisms a dark orange brown color. If you use new methylene blue instead, you will see organisms contrasted against a blue background.
WITHOUT STAINING Note:- You can choose to look at the unstained preparation first for motile forms, and then add stain by applying it at the edge of the coverslip.
Methylene blue stain at the edge Stain will diffuse
of the cover slip with a Pasteur pipette.
Application of iodine stain The fecal smear may be examined in a dry state and stained. Prepare the slide as for a wet mount, but instead of placing a cover slip, let it dry so that only a thin film is visible on the slide. It should be heat fixed by passing it over a flame for a few seconds. Then you can stain it.
A thin fecal smear is
prepared and dried The stains most commonly used are the Diff Quik or acid fast stain.
If you are trying to rule out
Cryptosporidium spp., then the acid fast stain is the stain of choice. 1) Parasitic diseases such as ascariasis, hookworms, whipworms, etc.., can be diagnosed by examining stools under a microscope for the presence of worm larvae or eggs. 2) Some bacterial diseases can be detected with a stool examination. 3) Quick screening test to check for any intestinal parasite. Under microscope
