Nongonococcal urethritis(NGU) is one of the common sexually transmitted diseases. Chlamydia trachomatis is the commonest pathogen of NGU. Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma genitalium, Trichomonas vaginalis and other pathogens also account for some cases of NGU. With the development of molecular biology and immunology, more and more new techniques, such as PCR, LCR, etc., have been used in the researches on the laboratory diagnosis of NGU. It is necessary to establish and standardize some reliable rapid diagnostic tests for NGU. This paper reviews the progress in researches on the concept, etiology, clinical features, laboratory diagnosis and treatment of NGU.
Animals ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques ; Humans ; Mycoplasma Infections ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Trichomonas Infections ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Trichomonas vaginalis ; isolation & purification ; Ureaplasma Infections ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Ureaplasma urealyticum ; isolation & purification ; Urethritis ; diagnosis ; drug therapy

The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of PCR for diagnosis of Trichomonas vaginalis infection among male patients with chronic recurrent prostatitis and urethritis. Between June 2001 and December 2003, a total of 33 patients visited the Department of Urology, Hanyang University Guri Hospital and were examined for T. vaginalis infection by PCR and culture in TYM medium. For the PCR, we used primers based on a repetitive sequence cloned from T. vaginalis (TV-E650). Voided bladder urine (VB1 and VB3) was sampled from 33 men with symptoms of lower urinary tract infection (urethral charge, residual urine sensation, and frequency). Culture failed to detect any T. vaginalis infection whereas PCR identified 7 cases of trichomoniasis (21.2%). Five of the 7 cases had been diagnosed with prostatitis and 2 with urethritis. PCR for the 5 prostatitis cases yielded a positive 330 bp band from bothVB1 and VB3, whereas positive results were only obtained from VB1 for the 2 urethritis patients. We showed that the PCR method could detect T. vaginalis when there was only 1 T. vaginalis cell per PCR mixture. Our results strongly support the usefulness of PCR on urine samples for detecting T. vaginalis in chronic prostatitis and urethritis patients.
Adult ; DNA Primers/genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Molecular Diagnostic Techniques/*methods ; Parasitology/*methods ; Polymerase Chain Reaction/*methods ; Prostatitis/diagnosis/parasitology ; Republic of Korea ; Trichomonas Infections/*diagnosis/parasitology ; Trichomonas vaginalis/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Urethritis/diagnosis/parasitology

We conducted a community-based study of the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in rural and periurban communities in Eastern Highlands Province. We interviewed a stratified random sample of women and men, examined the women for evidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and collected specimens for diagnosis of syphilis, by serology and dark-field microscopy, gonorrhoea, by Gram stain and culture, chlamydial infection, by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and direct immunofluorescence (DIF), trichomoniasis, by wet mount, and bacterial vaginosis, by wet mount and Gram stain. The men were tested for chlamydial infection only (first void urine tested by PCR and DIF). 201 women and 169 men were tested. Additionally, adults in the same communities who had not been randomly selected were offered the same services. An extra 243 women and 85 men were tested in this way. The laboratory results confirmed the clinical impression of an extremely high prevalence of STDs in this population. Among those randomly selected, 46% of the women had trichomonal vaginal infections and 26% had Chlamydia trachomatis infections detected by PCR, while 25% of the men had chlamydial infections. Other infections were much less common. 58% had one or more STDs. The prevalence of infection in self-selected adults was similar to that found in those randomly selected.
Chlamydia Infections - diagnosis ; Chlamydia Infections - epidemiology ; Data Collection ; Papua New Guinea - epidemiology ; Prevalence ; Rural Population ; Sexually Transmitted Diseases - epidemiology ; Trichomonas Vaginitis - diagnosis

The objectives of this study were to conduct a prevalence survey of trichomoniasis in pregnant women and to evaluate the utility of different methods for its diagnosis. A total of 597 vaginal exudates from pregnant women who were examined at the Hospital de Clinicas in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 1 August 2005 to 31 January 2007, were prospectively and consecutively evaluated. The investigation of Trichomonas vaginalis was made by different microscopic examinations, and culture on liquid medium. The sensitivity and specificity of the microscopic examinations were assessed considering culture on liquid medium as the "gold standard". The prevalence of T. vaginalis obtained by culture on liquid medium was 4.0% (24/597). The prevalence of T. vaginalis obtained by direct wet smear, prolonged May-Grunwald Giemsa staining, and sodium acetate-formalin (SAF)/methylene blue staining-fixing technique was 1.8%, 2.3% and 2.5%, respectively. The sensitivity of the direct wet smear was 45.8%, that of the prolonged May-Grunwald Giemsa staining was 58.3%, and that of the SAF/methylene blue method was 62.5%. Considering the 3 microscopic examinations altogether, the sensitivity rose to 66.7% and the specificity was 100% for all of them. This is the first time that the prevalence data of T. vaginalis by culture in pregnant women are published in Argentina. Due to the low sensitivity obtained by microscopy in asymptomatic pregnant women, the use of the liquid medium is recommended during pregnancy, in order to provide an early diagnosis and treatment.
Argentina/epidemiology ; Cell Culture Techniques ; Female ; Humans ; Microscopy/*methods ; Parasitology/*methods ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/*diagnosis/*epidemiology/parasitology ; Pregnant Women ; Prevalence ; Prospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Trichomonas Infections/*diagnosis/*epidemiology/parasitology ; Trichomonas vaginalis/growth & development/*isolation & purification

Trichomonas vaginalis, a causative agent of trichomoniasis, may trigger symptomatic or asymptomatic nongonococcal urethritis and chronic prostatitis in men. Despite the availability of highly sensitive diagnostic tests, such as nucleic acid amplification tests, including PCR, few prospective studies present data on male T. vaginalis infection in South Korea. In the present study, the prevalence of T. vaginalis and associated clinical conditions were evaluated in 201 male patients from a primary care urology clinic in South Korea. The prevalence of T. vaginalis infection in our cohort was 4% (8/201) by PCR. T. vaginalis infection was common in men older than 40 years (median age, 52 years). Among the 8 Trichomonas-positive patients, 87.5% (7/8) had prostatic diseases, such as prostatitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia, and 25.0% (2/8) and 12.5% (1/8) were coinfected with Chlamydia trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium, respectively. Our results suggest that T. vaginalis infection is not rare in men attending primary care urology clinics in South Korea, especially in those older than 40 years, in whom it may explain the presence of prostatic disease. The possibility of T. vaginalis infection should be routinely considered in older male patients with prostatic diseases in South Korea.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Chlamydia Infections/parasitology ; Chlamydia trachomatis/isolation & purification ; Coinfection ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mycoplasma Infections/parasitology ; Mycoplasma genitalium/isolation & purification ; *Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prostatitis/epidemiology/*parasitology ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Trichomonas Infections/*diagnosis ; Trichomonas vaginalis/*isolation & purification ; Young Adult