Toxocara Antibodies - What Is It, Igg Positive What Does It Mean?

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Toxocara Antibodies - What Is It, Igg Positive What Does It Mean?
Toxocara Antibodies - What Is It, Igg Positive What Does It Mean?

Video: Toxocara Antibodies - What Is It, Igg Positive What Does It Mean?

Video: Toxocara Antibodies - What Is It, Igg Positive What Does It Mean?
Video: Antibody Testing: IgG and IgM explained 2024, March
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As evidenced by the presence of antibodies to toxocara

Content

  • 1 What are toxocar antibodies?
  • 2 When is the analysis scheduled?
  • 3 Preparation for analysis
  • 4 Steps of procedure and interpretation of results
  • 5 Features of the study in childhood
  • 6 What if the test is positive?
  • 7 How do I get a negative result?

You can see the infection of the human body with helminths if you donate blood for antibodies to toxocars. These parasites lead to a sharp deterioration in human health, damage to many organs, including the liver and respiratory system. Infection occurs through contact with the eggs of these worms. They can be found on wool and in tissues of various animals, poorly processed products. Infection from humans usually does not occur, since toxocars cannot reproduce in the human body.

What are toxocar antibodies?

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Their determination indicates the presence of dioecious nematodes in the body. Serological research method is one of the most effective and efficient. This is due to the fact that other methods do not allow the presence of Toksokar Canis eggs in the feces.

Many people are interested in: antibodies to toxocara - what is it? These are cells that appear in the blood in response to the appearance of a parasite. Their action is aimed at studying a foreign organism and getting rid of it.

When helminths enter the body, they begin to spread throughout all organs, which leads to a change in the composition of the blood. The appearance of specific protein compounds is the main indicator that the immune system has responded correctly to parasites. Antibodies help protect the body, completely or partially neutralize the waste products they release.

The analysis is carried out not only for making an accurate diagnosis, but also for monitoring during treatment. If the amount of antibodies decreases under the influence of drugs, this indicates an effective treatment.

When is the analysis scheduled?

Disease can be suspected when a combination of symptoms appears. These include:

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  • A sharp increase in body temperature;
  • Fever;
  • Manifestation of urticaria;
  • Swelling of certain parts of the body.

In the acute stage, problems with the respiratory system are added to these symptoms. These are acute bronchitis, pneumonia and asthma attacks. Initially, parasites live in the stomach and small intestine of animals. Signs of the disease are found more often in preschool age, when kids actively interact with pets, spend a lot of time in the sandbox.

In adults, signs appear after contact with dogs or as a result of performing professional functions associated with communicating with animals. Larvae can migrate to different organs. The symptomatology and severity of the disease depend on this. When it enters the thyroid gland, signs of the formation of malignant cells develop. When the brain is damaged, paralysis can begin, excruciating headaches or seizures appear.

Preparation for analysis

There are several rules that must be followed to get an accurate result:

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  • The day before the analysis, you should not drink alcoholic beverages, eat fatty foods;
  • The analysis takes place in the morning, before breakfast;
  • If you are taking any medications, you should warn the doctor about this in advance.

Important! Igg antibodies to toxocara are not always accurate. Data distortion occurs during pregnancy or antiphospholipid syndrome. Sometimes the information turns out to be false after the patient undergoes radiation therapy or with a history of rheumatoid pathologies.

Experts say that due to the individual characteristics of the body, problems with decoding may also arise. In this case, antibodies to toxocar are simply not produced. There are very few of them even during the "serological window". This is a period of time up to 6 weeks when the concentration of antibodies required for diagnosis has not yet been developed.

Stages of the procedure and interpretation of the results

Blood is drawn from a vein. First, a tourniquet is applied to the arm, the vein is pierced. The biological fluid enters the test tube, which already contains a coagulation activator. A cotton swab soaked in alcohol is applied in place. Compresses may be prescribed to prevent hematoma from appearing.

ATs to toxocars can be in the body in different amounts:

Titer Result Specificity
1: 100 Negative If the symptoms of the disease persist, the diagnostic method is used again after 6 weeks.
From 1: 200 to 1: 400 Positive The patient is a carrier of parasites. The danger is that when exposed to negative external factors, when the immune defense is suppressed, helminths can spread through the central nervous system, into the organs of vision.
From 1: 800 Positive The doctor may talk about visceral toxocariasis. The disease is actively progressing, the number of antibodies may increase.
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When Igg toxocariasis is positive, what does it mean? This indicates that there is an infection in the body, and you need to start fighting it immediately. Sometimes the indicators are at the boundaries or the doctor has doubts about the credibility of the result. Then another method of detecting helminths is used: the positivity index. It is characterized by three meanings:

  • IDX is less than 0.9. This indicates the absence of helminths;
  • Index from 0.9 to 1.1 - dubious result requiring repetition of analyzes;
  • An index with high rates indicates infection.

Features of the study in childhood

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The presence of parasites in children is detected by the same method as in adults. The presence of symptoms characteristic of pathology is taken into account. If the titer is less than 1: 100, there are no helminths in the body. If the titer is up to 1: 400, a second analysis is performed. Attention is paid to the indicator 1: 600. It can indicate not only toxocariasis, but also other helminthic lesions.

After treatment, the amount of antibodies in the body remains for some time. A sign of a successful exposure is a decrease in antibodies.

What if the test is positive?

In case of toxocariasis with an increased level of Igg, studies are prescribed to identify the localization of parasites. For this, it is additionally assigned:

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  • X-ray of the sternum;
  • Ultrasound of internal organs;
  • CT scan;
  • Examination of the eyes.

Using laboratory methods, doctors can guess how much time has passed since infection. If, when using additional methods, the picture remains unclear, a biopsy is prescribed. For this purpose, liver cells are examined, in which parasite larvae can be identified.

Important! Remember that with a high degree of probability, it is possible to assume the presence of parasites only with a comprehensive assessment of the state of human health.

How do I get a negative result?

For this you need to undergo treatment. The techniques for eliminating toxocariasis existing today are far from perfect. The problem is that the medications used to fight the disease only affect the larvae that migrate through the body. Adults receive only minimal exposure.

The following medications can be used to eliminate parasites from the body:

  • Vermox. The course of treatment is 2-4 weeks. The advantage is that side effects are rare.
  • Mintezol. The drug is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, well excreted by the kidneys. It gives such side effects, which include headaches, nausea.
  • Albendazole. Allows you to get rid of visceral and ocular toxocariasis. It has a teratogenic effect, therefore it cannot be used during the period of gestation.

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    Vermox
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    Mintezol
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    Albendazole

In conclusion, we note that when symptoms of parasitic damage to the body appear, blood should be donated immediately. If the treatment is not delayed, the prognosis for life will be favorable.

With massive organ damage, there is a risk of death. In order to prevent the development of the disease, attention should be paid to preventive measures. It is necessary not to touch stray animals, regularly check the health of pets.

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