Trichomonas Vaginalis (TV) is the most common curable sexually transmitted disease agent in the United States, with an estimated 7.4 million new cases occurring annually.

Historically the simplest method to diagnose TV was the “wet-mount”. Unfortunately, the wet-mount method is very dependent upon the experience of the Clinical Laboratory Scientist in identifying the organism and extremely time dependent from collection to examination. The longer the delay from collection to examination, the less likely the organism will be detected microscopically. The sensitivity of the wet-mount method is between 35% and 80% when compared to culture.

The detection of TV with traditional culture is technically challenging and requires up to 7 days. Immediate inoculation into media is preferred, and proper incubation conditions are required in addition to frequent microscopic examinations of the media to successfully culture the protozoa. The difficulty of culture and the 7 day TAT has made this approach unfavorable by clinicians and laboratories. The sensitivity of culture has been estimated to range from 38% to 82% when compared to molecular methods due to problems visualizing low numbers of the organisms or motility of the protozoa.

We are now offering an in vitro qualitative nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) for the detection of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) from Trichomonas vaginalis to aid in the diagnosis of trichomoniasis.

The collection for Trichomonas vaginalis can be made using the APTIMA Unisex Swab Specimen Collection Kit for Endocervical Swab Specimens; APTIMA Urine Collection Kit; APTIMA Vaginal Swab Specimen Collection Kit; Thin-Prep PreservCyt Solution.

The APTIMA Trichomonas vaginalis assay is not FDA approved for male collections and isnot a covered service by State of California PACT Insurance.

ABC Lab test code: 910 CPT Code: 87661

If you have any questions or concerns, please call Paul Hoyt, Laboratory Manager, at ABC Labs.