الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
COVID-19 is a global pandemic disease with a spectrum of clinical presentations ranging from asymptomatic to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), sepsis, and multi-organ failure. This study aimed to assess the effect of co-infection of intestinal parasites on COVID-19 severity clinical outcomes. A case-control study on 250 COVID-19 patients and 50 healthy persons as control was carried out. Socio-demographic data, clinical features, laboratory findings, and co-parasitic infections were screened for all subjects. Patients were classified as 135 (54%) moderate or group I, 82 (32.8%) severe or group II, and 33 (13.2%) critical or group III, according to the National Health Commission. COVID-19 was more prevalent in ages between 60ys and 90ys (38.4%), males (56.8%), rural areas (52.8%), workers (52.8%), and non-married subjects (54.4%). Lymphopenia and anemia increased with increasing severity. Regarding parasitic co-infection, 49.6% of patients had parasitic infections. The percentage of parasitic infections was 71.9%, 29.3%, and 12.1% in group I, group II, and group III patients, respectively. co-infection of intestinal parasites was more common in ages between 20ys and 40ys (54.0%), males (65.3%), urban patients (61.3%), workers (65.3%), and married patients (57.3%). The most detected parasites were Blastocystis spp. (49. 6%), Cryptosporidium spp. (44. 8%), Entameba coli (42. 8%), and Cyclospora cayetanensis (39. 6%). There was an inverse correlation between COVID-19 severity and co-infection of intestinal parasites. Parasite-driven immunomodulatory responses may mute the hyperinflammation associated with severe COVID-19.