By ProPath Women’s Health Staff
Background
Trichomonas vaginalis (TV), Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) are among the most common causes of sexually transmitted infection in the United States1-3. TV and CT/NG infections commonly cause vaginal discharge, vaginitis, or urethritis, but up to half of TV and the majority of CT/NG infections in women are asymptomatic3. In pregnant women, TV infection increases the risk of premature labor, premature rupture of membranes, and CT-NG-Trich_testing_table1low birth weight, while untreated CT and NG infection can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, a common preventable cause of infertility3.
Among the traditional methods of diagnosis for TV and CT / NG infection are wet mount and culture, respectively. These methods are comparatively labor intensive and suffer from limited sensitivity compared to modern nucleic acid-based testing, which is both convenient and accurate.
The assay performed at ProPath
The FDA-approved APTIMA® Trichomonas vaginalis and Combo 2® CT/NG assays (Gen-Probe) use a target amplification method to detect nucleic acid sequences that are specific to TV and CT/NG. Clinical performance data provided by the manufacturer for female patients is shown for each assay in Tables 1 and 2.
ProPath has validated both assays for testing of urine samples. Collection of urine samples is convenient and noninvasive and offers clinical performance similar to testing of swab and liquid-based cytology samples.
Acceptable specimens
• Liquid-based cervicovaginal cytology specimens collected in ThinPrep or SurePath media.
• Endocervical or vaginal swab specimens collected and transported in the APTIMA Unisex collection kit
• Urine collected and transported in the APTIMA urine collection kit and transport tubes
Please refer to our website or our test menu for specimen collection instructions.
References:
1. Weinstock H, Berman S, Cates W. Sexually transmitted diseases among American youth: Incidence and prevalence estimates, 2000. Perspect Sex Reprod Health 2004; 36:6-10.
2. Ginocchio et al. Prevalence of Trichomonas vaginalis and co-infection with Chlamydia trachomatis and Deisseria gonorrhoeae in the United States as determined by the APTIMA Trichomonas vaginalis nucleic acid amplification assay. Abstract presented at the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Research annual meeting 2011. http://www.cdc.gov
3. Gen-Probe APTIMA Trichomonas vaginalis assay package insert.
4. Gen-Probe APTIMA COMBO 2 package insert.