Prevalencia de enterobiasis en niños escolares en la escuela “Segundo Coello Figueroa” del cantón El Guabo durante el periodo de mayo a junio del 2024

Abstract

Enterobiasis, caused by the intestinal parasite Enterobius vermicularis, is an infestation that especially affects preschool and school children, and can cause complications caused by various risk factors. Due to the lack of knowledge about the incidence of this parasitosis, the objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of Enterobiasis in school children at the “Segundo Coello Figueroa” School in El Guabo Canton through the practice of coproparasitic examinations for the acquisition of epidemiological data. The methodology employed included a descriptive, correlational and mixed approach (qualitative and quantitative), using a prospective non-experimental cross-sectional design. Reliability was determined using the test of association for independent samples (chi-square) with a 95% confidence interval. Forty stool samples from the population were analyzed. Surveys were conducted for the evaluation of sociodemographic, hygienic and sanitary factors and clinical manifestations. For this purpose, those that tested positive for Enterobius vermicularis were analyzed, corresponding to 23 samples of the total population used. The prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis in the samples was 57.5%. In addition, Entamoeba coli cysts were found in 20%, Giardia lamblia in 15% and 7.5% of Ascaris lumbricoides. Parasitosis affects any stage of life among the children studied. Based on sociodemographic factors, it was found that there is a direct correlation with the development of enterobiasis, with a p<0.05, affecting individuals differently depending on these conditions. In the case of hygienic-sanitary factors, it was found that 44.82% of the child population sometimes wash their hands before consuming food and 30.43% always do so; only 24.7% do not do so. In other words, the probability of infection with Enterobius vermicularis is higher due to oral-fecal spread. Regarding clinical manifestations, 21.7% reported insomnia, 8.7% nausea, 39.1% fever and abdominal discomfort occasionally, 21.7% malnutrition, 30.4% constant diarrhea and 13.0% tiredness or lack of concentration. Regarding discomfort in the perianal region, 32.0% of the infected children reported itching, irritability in 30.0% of the cases and bleeding in 16.0%. It is important to emphasize that the results obtained have provided useful information, since it was possible to determine that there is a prevalence of enterobiasis in the child population studied (57.5%).