Investigation Of Trichomonas Vaginalis By Parasitological And Cytological Methods In Patients Admitted To Gynecology Outpatient Clinics In A University Hospital

Aim: In this study, it was aimed to compare parasitological and cytological diagnostic methods to detect T. Vaginalis in samples taken from posterior fornix of vagina.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, study population (n= 104) were selected from women applying to gynecology outpatient clinic of Mustafa Kemal University Hospital with different complaints between March-August 2013. The presence of T. vaginalis was investigated by parasitological and cytological diagnostic methods. While direct microscopy, giemsa staining and culture in Cysteine-Peptone-Liver-Maltose medium (CPLM) were performed for parasitological diagnosis of T. vaginalis in samples taken from posterior fornix of vagina, cervical smear stained by Papanicolaou (PAPS) was used for cytological diagnosis.Results: T. vaginalis was detected in 12 (11.5%), 12 (11.5%), 14 (%13.4) of materials by direct microscopy, giemsa staining and culture, respectively. T. vaginalis was detected only 5 (4.8%) of materials by cytology. This difference was statistically significant (p<0.05).Conclusion: Our study results showed that parasitological methods are more sensitive than cytological methods in diagnosis of T. vaginalis. Therefore, T. vaginalis should be screened in women with non-specific symptoms in under developed countries where lack of periodic examination and polygamy were seen.