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Letter
Cost-Effective Screening for
Trichomoniasis
Read Dr.
Sorvillo's reply, http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no7/02-0116.htm
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
- Sorvillo F, Smith L, Kerndt P, Ash L. Trichomonas
vaginalis,
HIV, and African Americans. Emerg Infect Dis 2001;7:927–32.
- 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.
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