Absence of Intestinal Parasites in Asthma

Abstract

To confirm or refute the report by Tullis¹ that 198 of 201 patients with bronchial asthma had one of three intestinal parasites, we looked for parasites in 258 stool specimens from 123 patients with both intrinsic and extrinsic asthma. All stools were negative for Ascaris lumbricoides, Strongyloides stercoralis, and Necator americanus, the three parasites found by Tullis. On the basis of findings in 49 of our patients who had at least three negative stools, we estimate (upper 95 per cent confidence level, from [1 — p]⁴⁹ = 0.05) that not more than 6 per cent of persons with three stools examined would be positive for the parasites. Since Tullis found parasites in 49 per cent of his patients after examination of three stools, we were unable to confirm his findings.