Authors : Patricia Abreu Pinheiro de Lemos , Marco Tulio Antonio Garcia-Zapata , Noemia Marra Canedo Guimaraes and Raphael Gomes Morais
Abstract: This study compared wet mount microscopy, culture and cytology for the diagnosis of Trichomonas vaginalis in HIV-positive and negative women. In addition, the inflammatory alterations caused by the presence of the parasite were evaluated in the cervical smear test. Samples were collected from patients attending 3 healthcare centers, using swabs for wet mount microscopy and culture. For cytology, an endocervical cytobrush specimen was collected in all patients except for the pregnant women. A total of 237 samples were examined, 125 in the HIV-positive test group and 112 in the HIV-negative control group. The highest number of positive samples was identified by culture (13.9%), followed by cytology (13.5%) and wet mount microscopy (11.4%). Of the 33 culture-positive specimens, 26 (78.8%) were positive for T. vaginalis in all 3 techniques. There was no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups of patients with respect to inflammatory alterations associated with the parasite in the cervical smear test. Culture was the most effective diagnostic method (gold standard) for evaluation of the presence of T. vaginalis and there was no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups with respect to inflammatory alterations related to the parasite.
Patricia Abreu Pinheiro de Lemos , Marco Tulio Antonio Garcia-Zapata , Noemia Marra Canedo Guimaraes and Raphael Gomes Morais , 2009. Comparison of Methods for the Identification of Trichomonas vaginalis in HIV-Positive and Negative Women. International Journal of Tropical Medicine, 4: 76-81.