Brit. J. vener. Dis. (1961), 37, 223. THE PROBLEM OF TRICHOMONIASIS OF THE LOWER GENITAL TRACT IN THE FEMALE* BY N. NICOLETTI Department of Dermatology, Ospedale Civile dell'Annunziata, Cosenza, Italy Trichomonal infestation has spread in every 1934; Schmid and Kamniker, 1926; Bender, 1935; continent, in every class, in every race and climate. Molinero, 1951; Hees, 1936; Bensen, 1908; Stein and It may be asked whether this is due to the mis- Cope, 1931; Reuling, 1921; Willcox, 1960). fortunes of war or to improved methods of detecting The flagellate is never found in pure culture in the the organism. Does it affect the vagina or the whole vaginal secretions, but is always associated with uro-genital system? Is it acquired and transmitted other organisms such as N. gonorrhoeae, non- solely by sexual contact? What are the different haemolytic streptococci, coliform bacilli, and micro- forms of T. vaginalis? Does the parasite infect the cocci (Kissling, 1934; Haussmann, 1870; Hoehne, uro-genital system only, or does it sometimes give 1916; Schroder and Loser, 1919; Candiani, 1953), rise to serious general symptoms? Has the tricho- staphylococci (Candiani, 1953), Haemophilus vagi- monad an affinity with a follicular endocrinology, or nalis (Lutz and Burger, 1957), and yeast-like fungi. with a lower sensitivity of the vaginal mucosa to Michon-Adjoubel (1939) and Candiani (1953) have oestrogen? Why does the parasite so rarely give rise always found the flagellate in secretions at pH 5-6 as to clinical symptoms in the male? What is the measured by the colorimetric method. subjective and objective, local and general sympto- matology of trichomonal vaginitis? Identification This vast and complex problem with all its impli- Three methods of identifying the parasite are in cations and varied interpretations was discussed at use: the first European symposium which was held at (i) Examination of fresh smears of the vaginal Rheims in May, 1957, and from the therapeutic point secretion. of view it still remains unsolved. (ii) Microscopic examination of stained preparations. The discovery of the flagellate in the vaginal (iii) Culture in artificial media. secretion of the female and in the preputial sac in the Balbi (1952) examined fresh smears obtained from male was reported by Donne (1836) who described it the posterior or lateral fornices. as follows: The most popular staining procedure is that using "Un animalcule particulier ... d'un volume plus que May-Grunwald-Giemsa. double d'un globule de sang humain . son corps est Various methods have been used to obtain cul- rond . est muni a sa partie anterieure d'un long tures. Jirovec and Peter (1950) used 1 per cent. appendice flagelliforme, d'une espece de trompe ... au maltose broth with 10 per cent. human serum and dessous de cette trompe, plusieurs cils egalement tres 300-500 units of penicillin per ml.; Candiani (1953) fins . se rapproche des Monas par sa trompe et des and Mandoul and Pestre (1957) added 5 per cent. Tricodes par ses cils . pourrait porter le nom de serum from pregnant women and penicillin and Trico-monas vaginale." streptomycin to inhibit bacterial growth. de Carneri Hoehne (1916) confirmed the pathogenicity of the (1956) thought that cysteine hydrochloride was a parasite, described the acute type of vaginitis, and necessary growth factor, and did not agree with Swift emphasized its resistance to treatment and the (1937) that the addition of oestrogen and progesterone frequency of relapses. inhibited its growth. Sorel (1957) since 1954 has used The trichomonad and its habits have been des- a peptone broth with added meat and penicillin, and cribed in detail by various authors (Mandoul and Roiron-Ratner (1957) since 1956 has used meat Pestre, 1957; Powell, 1936; Chappaz, 1957; Kissling, infusion broth with added peptone, ascorbic acid, * Received for publication January 25, 1960. liver extract, glucose, and monopotassium phosphate. 223 224 BRITISH JOURNAL OF VENEREAL DISEASES Incidence cure the man ... abstinence from sexual intercourse being an important condition for cure". Bedoya The parasite is found in from 6 per cent. (Schroder (1957) said that the only way to cure trichomoniasis and LUser, 1919) to 91 per cent. (Bland and Rakoff, was to treat the man and woman simultaneously. 1956) of women. This great difference is due to many Trichomoniasis is thus undoubtedly a venereal factors, including age, race, condition of the genital disease, even in virgins; in fact five patients who were organs, sexual customs, phase of the menstrual virgae intactae admitted to the author that they had cycle, season, climate, and technique of examin- experienced coitus ante portas (intercourse without ation. All authors agree that it is most common penetration). Certain infected patients who were also at the period of greatest sexual activity, most virgins, described by Peter (1950), had had sexual rare in infancy, rare in childhood, and frequent at -contact of this kind. Dellepiane attributed the and after the menopause. frequency of relapses to the infection of the husband, It is more frequent in Negro women and those of and advised that both husband and wife should be mixed race than in white women (dos Santos and treated simultaneously. Zagury, 1943; Karnaky, 1936), in summer (Hees, 1936), and in the lower social classes. Reports differ on the influence of pregnancy on the incidence of trichomonal infestation. Jirovec (1957) Pathogenesis found it in 42 per cent. of pregnant women against The pathogenic nature of the organism is recog- 14 per cent. of non-pregnant, and Perez and Blan- nized by the majority of authors because the chard (1957) agreed with this. Balbi (1952) had no flagellate is always present in cases of vaginitis, its explanation for this greater incidence in pregnancy, disappearance coincides with clinical healing, and it and Chappaz (1957) observed it less frequently dur- may be made to reappear by an inoculation which ing pregnancy. produces the recognized clinical symptoms. There is a marked disagreement about the However, some authors (Haupt, 1924; Schroder, association of the flagellate with the gonococcus, 1921, 1925; Hibbert, 1933; Hesseltine, 1933) consider but the incidence is higher in cases coming to it to be a saprophyte, and others (Carretti, 1938; venereal disease clinics than in obstetric cases. Debiasi, 1939; Mohr, 1937; Pundel, 1950) have reported finding it in "healthy" virgins. Balbi (1952) said that "the variety of vaginal flora Transmission is misleading, since many organisms are considered to be normal and benign, and the cause of the The infrequency with which it is found in healthy inflammation is not found without very careful women compared with those clinically affected by examination". According to their nature and leucorrhoea or colpitis, has led most authors to abundance, they prepare the ground for the action think that the condition is transmitted through of the trichomonad and may increase the purulent sexual contact and should be classed as a venereal inflammation once it has become established, and so disease (Lapierre, 1957; Jira, 1957; Jirovec, 1957; increase the clinical symptoms. Keutel, 1957; Ottolenghi-Preti, 1957; Perju, 1957; The vaginal acidity is considered by many to be Picinelli, 1957). the most effective barrier against infection; tricho- In female children and adolescent girls the in- monads can be cultivated only in pH 4 9 to 7 5 fection is probably transmitted by clothing, bath (Morenas, 1945, gives 7 5-8). This is due to the tubs, or bidets, and in women perhaps rarely by continuous production of lactic acid from the rubber gloves, vaginal cannulae, or specula. glycogen of the vaginal epithelium, and to the Balbi (1952) said that the upward trend in the operation of Doderlein's lactobacilli, which decrease spread of the disease could only be due to venereal or disappear as the flagellates and associated flora transmission. Bauer (1957), in a world-wide flourish (trichomoniasis microbial culminaris- statistical survey, stated that no other logical source Jirovec). Very rarely T. vaginalis is associated with of contamination could be found apart from coitus. flora of the first grade (the epithelial cells flaking off, Chappaz and Chatellier (1951) said that "tricho- few leucocytes, the bacteria consisting only of monal vaginitis may be transmitted to a woman by a lactobacilli), but it prefers flora of the third or clinically healthy man, the penis being merely a fourth grade (Witzig, 1948). One author, who has vehicle for the parasite ... the infection is spread by recently rejected this idea that normal vaginal towels, bidets, or simply by coitus". Durel (1957) acidity and abundance of Doderlein's lactobacilli said that "by treating the woman one may very often render the survival of the flagellate impossible, is TRICHOMONIASIS OF THE LOWER GENITAL TRACT IN THE FEMALE 225 Feo (1956), who found the protozoon existing in a Symptomatology pH 3 -6 to 4-7 with a rich flora of Doderlein's bacilli in 92-5 per cent. of a series of pregnant Our cases were collected during the first 10 months women in the third trimester. of 1958. The normal acidity of the surrounding vagina and The patients came from V.D., gynaecological, and a normal density of lactobacilli favour a normal medical clinics, and from private practice. Of 148 increase offolliculin (Sannicandro, 1949) and healthy cases of more or less profuse leucorrhoea, sixty nutrition of the vaginal epithelium. This, when des- (40 per cent.) were positive for T. vaginalis. troyed, frees the glycolytic enzymes which break Age.-Two (3 3 per cent.) were 16 years old; down the glycogen into lactic acid; and the excess 45 (75 per cent.) were 20-40 years old; acid provokes an intense cytolysis of the epithelial 13 (21 67 per cent.) were 41-52 years old; cells. When the oestrogenic hormones are few, the These figures are a little lower than those given by Doderlein's bacilli are scarce or absent.