Hypoalbuminemia as a predictor of diarrhea caused by blastocystis hominis.

Blastocystis hominis is an intestinal protozoan found worldwide, particularly in developing countries, that may cause gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhea. We conducted a hospital-based study to identify clinical factors predictive of diarrhea caused by B. hominis. We studied patients with positive stool samples for B. hominis by formalin ethyl acetate concentration technique at Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand between 2003 and 2010. Patients were divided into diarrhea and non-diarrhea groups. Diarrhea patients were categorized if the diarrhea was associated with B. hominis only. In total, 81 patients with isolated B. hominis infection were studied. Of those, 17 patients (21%) had diarrhea associated with B. hominis infection. Eight variables were included in the final model predicting diarrhea caused by B. hominis on multiple logistic regression analysis. Only serum albumin level was significantly associated with diarrhea cases in this study with an adjusted OR of 0.162 and a 95% CI of 0.027- 0.957. Hypoalbuminemia is associated with diarrhea associated with blastocystosis.