Clinical Presentation and symptoms
Usually asymptomatic in immunocompetent individuals, but the symptoms of Balantidiasis include:
- Chronic diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
- Weight loss
- Colitis (inflammation of the colon)
- More severe and marked fluid loss
The most common ones are diarrhea or inflammation of the colon combined with abdominal cramps and bloody stools.
Picture: colonoscopic appearance of a patient's large bowel.
Since Balantidiasis is not a very common disease, patient history is important in diagnosis. If the patient has recently been exposed to amebiasis (intestinal illness caused by Entamoeba histolytica) through travel or contact with infected individuals combined with diarrheal symptoms, then consider diagnosis of balantidiasis. Also, ask if patient has been in contact with pigs as contact increases the risk of infection.
Balantidiasis can be diagnosed through sampling of the patient's stools and searching for cysts or trophozoites under a microscope. One can also perform a colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy to visually examine the intestinal lining and to obtain a biopsy from the large intestines can also provide evidence for the presence of trophozoites.