1st order laboratory parameters – obligatory laboratory tests.
- Small blood count
- Differential blood count [eosinophilia (> 500/µl): detectable in > 90% of patients with symptomatic trichinellosis already in the enteric phase, found in more than 50% of ill patients 2 to 4 weeks after infection] Inflammatory parameters – CRP (C-reactive protein).
- Fasting glucose (fasting blood glucose).
- Microscopic pathogen detection (muscle biopsy from deltoid muscle, pectoralis muscle (in the anterior axillary line), or biceps muscle) [safest procedure!]
- Serology (ELISA, IFT): IgM/IgG antibody detection – from the second to third week of illness; however, in some cases not until the 3rd or 4th week of illness; however, in some cases not until the 3rd or 4th week of illness.
- Direct microscopic examination of venous blood for migratory trichinae – possible in the first three to four weeks.
- Creatine kinase (CK) – increase in the migration phase.
Direct or indirect detection of Trichinella spiralis must be reported by name if the evidence indicates acute infection (Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases in Humans).
Further notes
- Proteinuria (increased excretion of protein in the urine), less commonly hematuria (blood in the urine) – with kidney involvement.