Inquérito preliminar de Trichomonas vaginalis em população feminina e fatores de risco associados em Unidade de Atendimento público no município de Uberlândia-MG

Abstract

Trichomonas vaginalis is the etiologic agent of trichomoniasis, recognized as one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted infections, yet it is also one of the most poorly investigated infections. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of the parasite among women and to identify possible factors associated to the infection. Samples from 157 women were collected and an epidemiological inquiry was applied to evaluate the habits and behavior of the population. Two distinct samples of each patient were collected and evaluated by culture, wet mount test, and Papanicolaou test. From the total of patients, nine (5.7%) women, with median age of 37 years old, from different ethnicities, and married, were infected with T. vaginalis. These data showed higher prevalence of the infection among blacks, although the difference was not statistical significant (p> 0.05). In addition, low education level, phase of the menstrual cycles and clinical signals were variables associated to the infection (p <0.05). The comparison between the diagnostic methods, wet mount test and culture showed 100% of concordance and presented higher sensitivity than Papanicolaou test. These results contribute to socioepidemiologic studies, the understanding of the involvement of the parasite, and that the early diagnosis provides the opportunity to reduce transmission and potentially prevent future complications.