Detection of Trichomonas vaginalis in endocervical and ectocervical smears

✍ Scribed by Arlene J. Herzberg; Jan F. Silverman

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 478 KB
• Volume: 14
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 8755-1039
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0339(199604)14:3<273::aid-dc15>3.0.co;2-i

✦ Synopsis

The objective of this study was to determine the relative sensitivity of detecting Trichomonas vaginalis in endocervical as compared to ectocervical Papanicolaou-stained smears. The average number of organisms in 10 (200x) high-powerJelds (hpf) per smear was used for comparing the presence of trichomonads in the two smear types. In every pair of ectocervical-endocervical smears, there were always more trichomonads in the ectocervical smear. Fifty percent of cases showed at least 25 more trichomonads per 2 0 0 ~ hpf in the ectocervical smear than in the endocervical smear. In 20 of 50 cases (40%), trichomonads were present only in the ectocervical smear. The organisms were found only in the endocervical smears of women with a heavier ectocervical trichomonad burden. In conclusion, trichomonads are detected in the Papanicolaoustained ectocewical smear more often than in the endocervical smear; therefore, examination of an adequate ectocervical smear has greater utility than the endocervical smear for the diagnosis of trichomoniasis.