Find information on thousands of medical conditions and prescription drugs.

Trichomoniasis

Trichomoniasis, sometimes referred to as "trich" or the ping pong disease, is a common sexually transmitted disease that affects 2 to 3 million Americans yearly. It is caused by a single-celled protozoan parasite called Trichomonas vaginalis. Trichomoniasis is primarily an infection of the genitourinary tract; the urethra is the most common site of infection in men, and the vagina is the most common site of infection in women. more...

Home
Diseases
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
Candidiasis
Tachycardia
Taeniasis
Talipes equinovarus
TAR syndrome
Tardive dyskinesia
Tarsal tunnel syndrome
Tay syndrome ichthyosis
Tay-Sachs disease
Telangiectasia
Telangiectasia,...
TEN
Teratoma
Teratophobia
Testotoxicosis
Tetanus
Tetraploidy
Thalassemia
Thalassemia major
Thalassemia minor
Thalassophobia
Thanatophobia
Thoracic outlet syndrome
Thrombocytopenia
Thrombocytosis
Thrombotic...
Thymoma
Thyroid cancer
Tick paralysis
Tick-borne encephalitis
Tietz syndrome
Tinnitus
Todd's paralysis
Topophobia
Torticollis
Touraine-Solente-Golé...
Tourette syndrome
Toxic shock syndrome
Toxocariasis
Toxoplasmosis
Tracheoesophageal fistula
Trachoma
Transient...
Transient Global Amnesia
Transposition of great...
Transverse myelitis
Traumatophobia
Treacher Collins syndrome
Tremor hereditary essential
Trichinellosis
Trichinosis
Trichomoniasis
Trichotillomania
Tricuspid atresia
Trigeminal neuralgia
Trigger thumb
Trimethylaminuria
Triplo X Syndrome
Triploidy
Trisomy
Tropical sprue
Tropophobia
Trypanophobia
Tuberculosis
Tuberous Sclerosis
Tularemia
Tungiasis
Turcot syndrome
Turner's syndrome
Typhoid
Typhus
Tyrosinemia
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Medicines

Symptoms

Trichomoniasis, like many other sexually transmitted diseases, often occurs without any symptoms. Men almost never have symptoms, while 20% of women are asymptomatic. When women have symptoms, they usually appear within 5 to 28 days of exposure. The symptoms in women include a heavy, yellow-green or gray vaginal discharge, discomfort during intercourse, vaginal odor, and painful urination. Irritation and itching of the female genital area, and on rare occasions, lower abdominal pain also can be present. In about two-thirds of infected females, there is edema, inflammation, cell hypertrophy and metaplasia. The symptoms in men, if present, include a thin, whitish discharge from the penis and painful or difficult urination.

Complications

Research has shown a link between trichomoniasis and two serious sequelæ. Data suggest that:

  • Trichomoniasis is associated with increased risk of transmission of HIV.
  • Trichomoniasis may cause a woman to deliver a low-birth-weight or premature infant.

Additional research is needed to fully explore these relationships.

Prevention

Use of male condoms may help prevent the spread of trichomoniasis, although careful studies have never been done that focus on how to prevent this infection.

Read more at Wikipedia.org


[List your site here Free!]


Cost-effective screening for Trichomoniasis - Letters
From Emerging Infectious Diseases, 7/1/02 by Jane R. Schwebke

To the Editor: I read with interest a recent article in your journal, "Trichomonas vaginalis, HIV, and African Americans" (1), and I commend the authors' suggestion to implement screening and reporting of trichomoniasis for high-risk populations.

In the article, a cost-effective screening approach is mentioned, which includes culturing only for those women whose wet-mount tests are negative. In 1999, my colleagues and I reported on the validity of this method for diagnosing trichomoniasis in women (2). During our study, an additional vaginal swab was collected during the pelvic examination and placed into a glass tube. If the wet mount was negative, this swab was later added to a culture pouch for T. vaginalis. We found no statistically significant difference in the sensitivity of this method compared with that of adding swabs immediately to pouches at bedside. This method of delaying the second test until the results of the first test are known should be considered in screening women for trichomoniasis, especially in high-prevalence populations.

Jane R. Schwebke

University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA

References

(1.) Sorvillo F, Smith L, Kerndt P, Ash L. Trichomonas vaginalis, HIV, and African Americans. Emerg Infect Dis 2001;7:927-32.

(2.) Schwebke JR, Venglarik MF, Morgan SC. Delayed versus immediate bedside inoculation of culture media for diagnosis of vaginal trichomonosis. J Clin Microbiol 1999;37:2369-70.

Reply to Dr. Schwebke

To the Editor: We welcome Dr. Schwebke's thoughtful comments about decreasing the cost of screening for Trichomonas vaginalis. Dr. Schwebke and her colleagues have demonstrated that storing a vaginal swab for 15-20 minutes in a glass tube at room temperature does not affect the viability of T. vaginalis or reduce the sensitivity of subsequent culture. This finding shows that vaginal swabs may be stored briefly while a wet-mount preparation is made and examined. If the wet mount is negative for T. vaginalis, the stored swab can then be processed for culture. If the wet mount is positive for T. vaginalis, no further culture of the specimen is needed, thereby reducing unnecessary costs. Given that the prevalence of this infection olden exceeds 20% in high-risk populations, this approach can reduce costs substantially without compromising the accuracy of the tests. Any method that reduces the cost of diagnosis will advance further screening for trichomoniasis and promote the ultimate goal of implementing intervention efforts.

Frank Sorvillo, * ([dagger]) Lisa Smith, * ([dagger]) and Peter Kerndt ([dagger])

* University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA; and ([dagger]) Department of Health Services, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, USA

COPYRIGHT 2002 U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group

Return to Trichomoniasis
Home Contact Resources Exchange Links ebay