Comment on the use of the Giardia fecal immunoassay; how many specimens should be tested before assuming the patient is negative?
Since the evidence indicates that Giardia is shed sporadically, and that more than one immunoassay might be required to diagnose the infection, the recommendation is similar to that seen for stool collection for the routine O&P examination: perform the immunoassay on two different stools (assuming the first specimen is negative), collected within no more than a 10 day period – a good collection schedule would be day one, then day three or four. That way, one would assume one of those collections would yield a positive if the organisms (in sufficient numbers) are present. However, you also have to remember that if the patient is a carrier with a low organism load, even the second immunoassay might be negative.
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Comment on the use of the Giardia fecal immunoassay; how many specimens should be tested before assuming the patient is negative?