1st order laboratory parameters – obligatory laboratory tests.
- Small blood count [anemia (anemia), if applicable].
- Differential blood count [eosinophilia]
- Ferritin – if iron deficiency anemia is suspected.
- Inflammatory parameter – CRP (C-reactive protein).
- Urine sediment (urine examination) [hematuria (blood in urine)]
- Stool and urine examination for enteropathogenic germs, fungi, parasites and worm eggs [Evidence is the detection of typical eggs in the urine in the sediment or after filtration or in the stool (after enrichment), taking into account the circadian egg excretion around midday].
- Mucosal biopsies [pathogen detection from mucosal biopsies from urinary bladder or intestine]
- Microscopic examination of the thick drop and thin blood smears (plasmodia direct detection) – suspected malaria.
- Immunological methods (can provide a diagnostic clue already in the prepatency period (time period from ingestion of infectious parasite stages to the appearance of first sexual products (eggs, larvae, etc.) in the stool) – in atypical localizations of schistosomiasis [detection of specific antibodies with ELISA, cross-reactions with antibodies against other trematodes; note: antibody persistence after therapy].
- Molecular biological detection (detection of Schistosoma DNA by PCR from EDTA blood; allows reliable diagnosis at an early stage of disease).
- Liver parameters – alanine aminotransferase (ALT, GPT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST, GOT), glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (gamma-GT, GGT), alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin.
- Renal parameters – urea, creatinine, cystatin C if necessary.
Notice:
- Between inoculation (introduction or transmission) of the parasite and the beginning of egg excretion (prepatency period) is 4-5 weeks.
- It is advisable to examine several samples.
