Evaluation of direct microscopy and culture method for detection of Trichomonas vaginalis in vaginal discharge and urine samples

Abstract

Trichomoniasis has emerged as the most common sexually transmitted disease, and limited data is available on the effective screening technique for the diagnosis of Trichomonas vaginalis (T. vaginalis). This study aimed to compare the ability of two culture media (InPouch TV and Diamond's) to support the growth of clinical isolates of Trichomonas vaginalis and their relative sensitivity for detection of the organism. A total of 343 patients complaining of vaginal discharge of 293 women and urine sample of 50 men were included in the study. From December 2021 to May 2022, from Azadi Teaching Hospital, Private clinics, and Midwifery and Childbearing Hospital in Kirkuk. Three vaginal swabs and a urine sample were screened for trichomoniasis by wet mount microscopy. Diamond Media Culture and Pouch TV were used. The 343 cases studied, 6 women and 1 man were positive by wet mount microscopy, which means 7 (2%) and 336 (98%) were negative. Sterile vaginal swab with centrifugation and urine samples had the highest rate of specificity (85%) to detect TV compared to vaginal swab without centrifugation and Amies Gel Transport Media (AGT) media, which had a lower sensitivity (33% and 16%), respectively. Inpouch TV media was the best culture to grow TV and remained for 10 days, but Local Diamond Modified Media (LDMM) had a poor result for growth of trichomonas vaginalis and only remained alive for 2 days. According to our experiment, the most successful routes of detection are urine and vaginal swab with centrifugation, and Inpouch TV is the unique culture for growth and better than LDMM.