Abstract

In the present study, three vaginal swabs were collected from 1469 females clinically suspected of having Trichomonas vaginalis (T. v) infection. All samples were screened by both wet mount and Diamond's culture media that was considered as the golden standard in this study. T. vaginalis gene detection by nested PCR using 4 primers targeting the Tv-E650 gene was performed on the preserved vaginal uncultivated samples corresponding to the culture positive vaginal specimens plus 30 randomly selected samples equaled to those obtained negative culture results. The prevalence of T. vaginalis infection among our patients was calculated according to the results of the golden standard culture method to be 1.43% (21 out of 1469). Wet preparation was positive for only 13 samples and missed 8 samples. PCR diagnosed 20 samples and missed one specimen that became positive after 4 days of cultivation. In this study, PCR for trichomonads does not appear to offer a diagnosticadvantage and its sensitivity did not exceed that of culture. Successful culture of T. vaginalisrequires only the multiplication of a single or63ganism, the same as that needed for PCR. Therefore, the present work is highly recommending the use of Diamond's culture in the diagnosis of trichomoniasis in women.

Key words: Trichomonas vaginalis, nested PCR, wet mount, diamond's culture, vaginal swabs, Saudi Arabia, Al-Madina Al-Munawarah.