Diagnosis of trichomoniasis by polymerase chain reaction

The clinical usefulness of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the diagnosi s of trichomoniasis was evaluated in comparison with other conventional tes ts. PCR was used for specific detection of Trichomonas vaginalis by primers based on the repetitive sequence cloned from T. vaginalis (TV-E650). Bera een June 1996 and August 1997, 426 patients visited the department of obste trics and gynecology, Hanyang University Kuri Hospital and were examined fo r trichomoniasis using wet mount examination, Papanicolaou (Pap) smear, cul ture and PCR. One hundred and seventy-seven patients (group, A) visited wit h the symptom of vaginal discharge and 249 patients (group B) visited for r egular cervical Pap smear with no vaginal symptoms. From group A (n=177), 3 infections (2.0%) were detected by wet mount, 6 infections (3.3%) by Pap s mear and culture, and 17 infections (10.4%) by PCR From group B (n=249), 4 patients (1.6%) were found to have T. vaginalis by culture and 6 infections (2.4%) were detected by PCR Therefore, in both groups, PCR For T. vaginali s showed a higher detection rare compared with conventional wet mount, Pap smear or culture. The detection by PCR was specific for T. vaginalis since no amplification was detected with DNAs from other protozoa and Candida alb icans. The sensitivity and specificity of PCR were 100%. This method could detect T. vaginalis in vaginal discharge at a concentration as low as 1 cel l per PCR mixture. These results indicate that PCR could be used as a speci fic and sensitive diagnostic tool for human trichomoniasis.