Abstract：
Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) are still a serious public health problem worldwide, particularly in developing countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people\'s lifestyles and quality of life. Besides, the prevalence of IPIs is directly associated with environmental sanitation, overcrowding, and personal hygiene. Therefore, the current study aimed to determine the prevalence of IPIs among patients referred to hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences by reviewing the available data of hospital information system database in the pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic. The total data of 13,686 patients referred to hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, southern Iran were collected from March 2019 to March 2021. The overall prevalence of IPIs was found to be 4.4%, and Blastocystis spp. was the most common parasite. The prevalence of protozoan parasites (4.4%) was significantly higher than helminthic parasites (0.04%, P < 0.001). A significant association was observed between IPIs with age, gender, and year (P < 0.05). The prevalence of IPIs among those referred to hospitals before the COVID-19 pandemic was higher than those referred to hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic (5.8% vs 2.8%), and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.001). The odds of infection among people investigated during the COVID-19 pandemic was about 40% lower than those investigated before the COVID-19 pandemic (AOR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.49-0.73, P < 0.001). Our results showed that the prevalence of IPIs has decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Improved sanitation, personal hygiene, and health education can be effective in reducing parasitic infections in the COVID-19 pandemic.
摘要：
肠道寄生虫感染(IPIs)在全球范围内仍然是一个严重的公共卫生问题。特别是在发展中国家。COVID-19大流行影响了人们的生活方式和生活质量。此外,IPIs的流行与环境卫生直接相关，人满为患,和个人卫生。因此,本研究旨在通过回顾COVID-19大流行前后医院信息系统数据库的可用数据,确定在设拉子医科大学附属医院转诊的患者中IPI的患病率.来自设拉子医科大学附属医院的13686名患者的总数据，伊朗南部是从2019年3月到2021年3月收集的。发现IPIs的总体患病率为4.4%，和囊胚菌属。是最常见的寄生虫.原生动物寄生虫的患病率(4.4%)明显高于蠕虫寄生虫(0.04%,P<0.001)。IPI与年龄之间存在显着关联，性别,年(P<0.05)。在COVID-19大流行前转诊到医院的IPI患病率高于COVID-19大流行期间转诊到医院的IPI患病率(5.8%对2.8%)，差异均有统计学意义(P<0.001)。在COVID-19大流行期间调查的人群中，感染几率比COVID-19大流行前调查的人群低约40%(AOR：0.60，95%CI：0.49-0.73，P<0.001)。我们的结果表明，在COVID-19大流行期间，IPIs的患病率有所下降。改善卫生条件，个人卫生,和健康教育可以有效减少COVID-19大流行中的寄生虫感染。
