Special ArticleA meta-analysis of the Papanicolaou smear and wet mount for the diagnosis of vaginal trichomoniasis
Section snippets
Identification of studies
We searched the MEDLINE database in all languages for articles published between January 1976 and February 1998 that described diagnostic tests for vaginal trichomoniasis in women (Ovid 7.05, Ovid, Technologies Inc., New York, New York). The keywords to identify trichomoniasis were explode (exp) trichomonas, exp trichomonas infections, trichomonas vaginalis, and trichomonas vaginitis. Terms under each subheading were also retrieved. The text word trichomonas and the wild card trichomon$ were
Results
We classified 12 (39%) studies as level I, 15 (48%) as level II, and 4 (13%) as level III (Table 1). The study design included a prospective evaluation of consecutive patients in 11 (35%) investigations. The test results did not influence the decision to perform trichomonas culture as a gold standard in 27 (87%) studies, and the test and culture were examined independently and blindly in 4 (13%) studies. An appropriate spectrum of patients was included in 16 (52%) of the reports, and the study
Discussion
Effective control of trichomoniasis will require a coordinated effort by clinicians and public health authorities to institute prevention and treatment programs. The success of this effort depends in part on the availability of a rapid, convenient, and accurate test to make the diagnosis in women with symptomatic vaginitis, and to screen for the infection in populations with a high prevalence of infection. The 1998 guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the treatment
Acknowledgements
We thank Amy Jackson and Laurin Gibson for technical assistance, and Drs. Diana Antonacci, James Byrd, and Harry Adams for reviewing the paper.
References (69)
- et al.
Prevention of premature birth by screening and treatment for common genital tract infectionsresults of a prospective controlled evaluation
Am J Obstet Gynecol
(1995) - et al.
Evaluation of a deoxyribonucleic acid probe for the detection of Trichomonas vaginalis in vaginal secretions
Am J Obstet Gynecol
(1996) - et al.
The emergency department diagnosis of Trichomonas vaginitis
Ann Emerg Med
(1989) - et al.
Value of wet mount and cervical cultures at the time of cervical cytology in asymptomatic women
Obstet Gynecol
(1995) - et al.
Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Trichomonas vaginalis by polymerase chain reaction in introital specimens from pregnant women
Am J Obstet Gynecol
(1996) - et al.
Global epidemiology of sexually transmitted diseases
Lancet
(1998) - World Health Organization. Report on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic June 1998. HIV and AIDS: the global situation....
- et al.
Acute human immunodeficiency virus type I infection
NEJM
(1998) - et al.
Non-ulcerative sexually transmitted diseases as risk factors for HIV-1 transmission in women. Results from a cohort study
AIDS
(1993) The epidemiology of cervical neoplasia
Biomed Pharmacother
(1985)
Clinical and microbiological aspects of Trichomonas vaginalis
Clin Microbiol Rev
Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and the incidence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade III. Cancer Causes Control
Comparison of direct fluorescent antibody, acridine orange, wet mount, and culture for detection of Trichomonas vaginalis in women attending a public sexually transmitted diseases clinic
Sex Transm Dis
Vaginitis
NEJM
Several years of observation of the incidence of Trichomonas vaginalis infections among female workers in a single industrial plant
Wiad Parazytol
Papillomavirus in cervicovaginal smears of women infected with human immunodeficiency virus
Rev Paul Med
An evaluation of cervical cytological screening in the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka
Med J Zambia
Cervical cytology screening of high-risk patients in Ondo General Hospital, Nigeria
J Trop Med Hyg
Incidence of sexually transmitted diseases and pap smear results in female homeless clients from the Chicago Health Outreach Project
Health Care Women Int
Diagnosis of vaginal mycosis and trichomoniasis. Reliability of cytologic smear, wet smear and culture
Obstet Gynecol
Errors in the diagnosis of trichomonas as observed among 1199 patients
Obstet Gynecol
Detection of Trichomonas vaginalis in endocervical and ectocervical smears
Diagn Cytopathol
Evaluation and management of vaginitis
J Gen Intern Med
Developing optimal search strategies for detecting clinically sound studies in MEDLINE
J Am Med Inform Assoc
Beyond ACP Journal Clubhow to harness MEDLINE for diagnostic problems
ACP J Club
Guidelines for meta-analyses evaluating diagnostic tests
Ann Intern Med
The plastic envelope method, a simplified technique for culture diagnosis of trichomoniasis
J Clin Microbiol
Detection of serum antitrichomonal antibodies in urogenital trichomoniasis by immunofluorescence
J Postgrad Med
An evaluation of an InPouch TV culture method for diagnosing Trichomonas vaginalis infection
Genitourin Med
Cited by (110)
Trichomonas vaginalis
2018, Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious DiseasesSexually Transmitted Infection Syndromes
2017, Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious DiseasesVariation of a test's sensitivity and specificity with disease prevalence
2013, CMAJ. Canadian Medical Association JournalComparison of Three Methods for Diagnosing Trichomoniasis in Female Patients with Sexual Activity Attended at a Hospital in Peru
2023, Journal of Parasitology Research