RAPID SCREENING OF URINARY SCHISTOSOMIASIS USING A SIMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE: EAST NILE LOCALITY, KHARTOUM STATE, SUDAN

Howeida H. Abusalih, Mohamed A. Awadelkarim, Elsadig Yousif Mohamed*, Sawsan Mustafa Abdalla

ABSTRACT

Background: The use of simple questionnaire to identify communities at highest risk of Schistosoma haematobium infection has proven to be very effective in many countries. The success of this approach arises from the fact that urinary Schistosomiasis is generally well recognized among health care providers as well as patients by presence of blood in urine. The objective of the current study was to assess the diagnostic performance of simple questionnaire for rapid screening of urinary Schistosomiasis in East Nile locality in Khartoum, Sudan. Methodology: Descriptive study was conducted in East Nile locality in Khartoum State, Sudan among children aged 10-15 years. The Sample size was calculated as chosen randomly from 7 schools. A questionnaire was used to record the presence of blood in urine of the children under study. Golden standard sedimentation method for detection of urinary Schistosomiasis was used. The data was analyzed using SPSS. Ethical approval and verbal consent was obtained. Results: Percentage of hematuria in the study population by questionnaire and by laboratory examination were nearly the same 91(26.5%) and 94(27.3%) respectively. Cross tabulation of hematuria against presence of schistosoma eggs in urine revealed sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values as 55.6%, 80%, 43% and 86.9% respectively. Conclusion: Questionnaire was found to be rapid, with high diagnostic performance in detecting communities at risk of having urinary Schistosomiasis.

Keywords: Urinary Schistosomiasis, hematuria, rapid screening.