AGE-RELATED FEATURES OF CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF GIARDIASIS
Abstract
The work is based on the assessment of age-related features of clinical manifestations of giardiasis. We observed 124 patients aged 3 to 18 years, including 104 children with giardiasis and 20 children of the same age without giardiasis, who made up the comparison group.
The clinical picture of giardiasis in children is characterized by a combination of pain, dyspeptic and astheno-neurotic syndromes. With age, there is a decrease in the frequency of pain in the navel area and an increase in pain in the epigastric region, left and right hypochondria, as well as a tendency to increase the frequency and intensity of pain, without a clear connection with food intake. Dyspeptic disorders such as heartburn, belching, nausea are more common in older children, while cases of vomiting become less frequent with age. Diarrhea is one of the leading symptoms regardless of age. A characteristic clinical symptom of giardiasis is pigmentation of the navel and the white line of the abdomen, the symptom has 100% sensitivity and 78% specificity.