How should intestinal protozoa be reported?
Reporting trophs/cysts: This has been the accepted way of reporting intestinal protozoa for a couple of reasons: Different drugs are used to treat Entamoeba histolytica cysts vs. trophs. Also, since the cyst form is the infective stage for the protozoa (exception: D. fragilis and the trichomonads), the report does convey some epidemiologic information. For these reasons, the current recommendation is to continue to report all protozoa (genus, species, stage).
