Journal Article

Trichomonas vaginalis Genital Infections: Progress and Challenges

Hobbs, Marcia M., Seña, Arlene C., Bachmann, Laura H., Sobel, Jack D., Schwebke, Jane R., Workowski, Kimberly A., Krieger, John N., McClelland, R. Scott

2011

Overview

Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) infection is the most prevalent curable sexually transmitted infection in the United States and worldwide. Most TV infections are asymptomatic, and the accurate diagnosis of this infection has been limited by lack of sufficiently sensitive and specific diagnostic tests, particularly for men. To provide updates for the 2010 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines, a PubMed search was conducted of all TV literature published from 9 January 2004 through 24 September 2008. Approximately 175 pertinent abstracts and articles were reviewed and discussed with national experts. This article describes advances in TV diagnostics which have led to an improved understanding of the epidemiology of this pathogen, as well as potential biologic and epidemiological interactions between TV and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). New data on treatment outcomes, metronidazole-resistant TV, management of nitroimidazole-allergic patients, frequency of recurrent TV infection following treatment, and screening considerations for TV in certain populations are also presented.

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Subject: Adolescent / Adult / Antiprotozoal Agents - adverse effects / Antiprotozoal Agents - therapeutic use / Disease transmission / Dosage / Drug Hypersensitivity / Drug Resistance / Epidemiology / Female / Genital Diseases, Female - diagnosis / Genital Diseases, Female - drug therapy / Genital Diseases, Female - epidemiology / Genital Diseases, Female - parasitology / Genital Diseases, Male - diagnosis / Genital Diseases, Male - drug therapy / Genital Diseases, Male - epidemiology / Genital Diseases, Male - parasitology / HIV / HIV Infections - complications / Human immunodeficiency virus / Humans / Infections / Male / Mass Screening - methods / Medical diagnosis / Medical screening / Medical treatment failures / Men / Middle Aged / Polymerase chain reaction / Practice Guidelines as Topic / Recurrence / Sexually transmitted diseases / Single status / Specimens / STD / Supplement / Trichomonas Infections - diagnosis / Trichomonas Infections - drug therapy / Trichomonas Infections - epidemiology / Trichomonas Infections - parasitology / Trichomonas vaginalis - drug effects / Trichomonas vaginalis - isolation & purification / Trichomonas vaginalis - pathogenicity / United States - epidemiology / Urine / Urogenital system / Young Adult