Trichomonas vaginalis: Reevaluation of Its Clinical Presentation and Laboratory Diagnosis

Vaginal discharge is the most common complaint and Trichomonas vaginalis vaginitis the most frequently diagnosed problem among women attending the DeKalb County, Georgia, Venereal Disease Clinic. Despite this prevalence, the 1837 observations of Donné are the criteria frequently used in the clinical...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 1980-02, Vol.141 (2), p.137-143
Main Authors: Fouts, Anthony C., Kraus, Stephen J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Disease Outbreaks
Epidemiology
Female
Georgia
Gonorrhea
Gonorrhea - epidemiology
Humans
Infections
Infectious Diseases
Leukorrhea
Middle Aged
Sexually transmitted diseases
Symptoms
Trichomonas Infections - diagnosis
Trichomonas Infections - epidemiology
Trichomonas Infections - microbiology
Trichomonas vaginalis - isolation & purification
Trichomonas Vaginitis - diagnosis
Trichomonas Vaginitis - microbiology
Vaginal discharge
Vaginal douching
Vaginitis
Yeasts
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Summary:Vaginal discharge is the most common complaint and Trichomonas vaginalis vaginitis the most frequently diagnosed problem among women attending the DeKalb County, Georgia, Venereal Disease Clinic. Despite this prevalence, the 1837 observations of Donné are the criteria frequently used in the clinical and laboratory diagnosis of trichomoniasis. Our study shows that a purulent, frothy discharge is indeed a characteristic of trichomonal vaginitis, but if it is used as the sole diagnostic criterion, 88% of women with trichomonal vaginitis will not be identified and 29% will be erroneously diagnosed as infected. Donne's wet-mount test remains highly specific, but culture will detect twice as many trichomonas infections. There is a positive association between trichomoniasis and gonococcal cervicitis, failure to use contraceptive techniques, and lack of yeast in the wet mount of vaginal secretions.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1093/infdis/141.2.137