Abstract
The role of Dientamoeba fragilis in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is incompletely known. We aimed to investigate whether eradication of D. fragilis alleviates symptoms in IBS. Twenty-five D. fragilis-positive IBS patients were treated with Metronidazole (MZ) or Tetracycline. The patients were mostly female (89%), and mean age (SD) was 35.1 (8.2) years. Microbiological response, evaluated 2 weeks post-treatment, was observed in 15 of 25 patients (60%), all by MZ. Clinical response, defined as adequate relief of symptoms, was observed in 7 of 22 patients (32%), all by MZ. In a logistic regression analysis, we found no significant association between clinical and microbiological response. This case study did not support our hypothesis of a simple association between D. fragilis and IBS. Some D. fragilis-infections were insufficiently treated by MZ. Further studies into the prevalence and effect of eradication of D. fragilis in IBS and into efficient treatments of D. fragilis are warranted.