IS TRICHOMONIASIS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH BACTERIAL VAGINOSIS IN PREGNANT ADOLESCENTS

The same criteria for identifying bacterial vaginosis are often present in women with trichomoniasis. These criteria include elevated vaginal pH, vaginal odor, homogeneous discharge, increased anaerobic bacteriologic vaginal flora, and elevated levels of bacterial enzymes. Clinically mixed vaginal infections occur, and because the treatment for these two conditions can be different, it is important to distinguish between them. Trichomoniasis can interfere with a Gram stain diagnosis or the proline aminopeptidase test for bacterial vaginosis. Clue cells are not generally found in women with Trichomonas vaginalis, but when present, they strongly indicate the concomitant presence of bacterial vaginosis.