Objective: Investigation of the clinical course of infection with Giarda lamblia after a large outbreak in an area where Giardia is not endemic in humans.
Design: A cohort of patients from primary healthcare with clinically defined giardiasis was investigated by retrospectively analysing data from the patients' medical records.
Setting: Urban primary healthcare setting in Bergen, Norway.
Subjects: From a population (n = 7100) assigned to two general practice clinics located in the outbreak area 134 patients met the inclusion criteria of at least one of the following: typical symptoms for at least one week, detection of Giarda lamblia in stool samples, or receiving a specific diagnosis. Of these, 119 gave consent to take part in the study.
Main outcome measures: Proportion of patients with clinical giardiasis identified by detection of parasites in stool samples. Proportion of patients with prolonged disease and recurring symptoms.
Results: A positive test for Giardia lamblia was found in 55% (66/119) of the patients. Specific treatment was given to 89 patients, and after treatment 36% (32/89) returned to their doctor because they experienced recurring symptoms. Compared with those not returning a significantly higher proportion of this group had seen their GP for other GI complaints in the previous two years.
Conclusion: Laboratory-based diagnosis missed a substantial number of patients falling sick with giardiasis during the outbreak. One-third of the patients experienced recurring symptoms after treatment, and there was an association between previous gastrointestinal complaints and recurrence of symptoms.