Abstract
Background: Trichomonas vaginalis (T.vaginalis) is one
of the most common parasitic non viral Sexually Transmitted
Infections (STI) in the world. The World Health Organization
(WHO) has estimated that 160 million trichomoniasis cases
are acquired annually worldwide [1].
Aim of Study: Evaluate different direct laboratory methods
used in diagnosis of vaginal trichomoniasis.
Material and Methods:The cross sectional study was
carried out on 200 female patients, suffering from vaginal
discharge, aged between 20-50 years old. Two vaginal swabs
were taken from every patient after taking a concent. All the
samples were examined by wet mount, stained by Giemsa,
rapid test and Culture on modified Diamond's medium and
ELIZA.
Results:This study showed that ELIZA is the gold standered among diagnostic techniques as it detected T. vaginalis
in 15% of suspected patients followed by 13.5% by culture,
then 12.5% by rapid test and lastly wet mount which detected
only 5% of cases. ELIZA and Culture gave the highest sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, NPV and PPV followed by rapid
test. The least sensitive was wet mount. The least specific
was Giemsa stain.
Conclusion: The study showed that wet mount method is
simple and cheap. Wet mount microscopy is the preferred
option for prompt diagnosis of trichomoniasis. It is proved
that rapid test is relatively simple to carry out, shows reasonable
sensitivity and culture remains the most accurate single method
for detecting the presence of T. vaginalis in patient samples.
and Diamond's medium is a suitable culture method and is
considered as the gold standard of diagnosis of trichomoniasis.
Key Words:Trichomonas – Vaginalis rapid test vaginal
discharge – ELIZA – Diamond’s medium – Aswan