Study of the incidence and occurrence of symptoms of vaginal trichomonads and various species of yeast in pregnancy

Abstract

A study evaluating the efficacy of treatment of Trichomonas vaginalis vaginitis with tyrothricin suppositories1 yielded considerable data concerning the incidence of, and symptoms caused by, vaginal trichomonads and various species of yeast. Since relatively few surveys have been published on certain aspects of the subject, it was thought that an analysis of the data might add to the general information.The incidence of Trichomonas vaginalis has been reported by many workers; the average seems to be about 25 per cent.2 Symptoms of pruritus and discharge are not always associated with the trichomonads. In fact, they may be absent in 47 to 87 per cent of patients with vaginal trichomoniasis.3Yeastlike fungi were isolated from the vaginas of 32 per cent of pregnant patients and 14 per cent of gynecologic patients by Carter and Jones4 in 1937. Again, in 1940, Carter et al.5 found 33 per cent of obstetric patients had yeasts in their vaginal tracts. Carter et al.5 were the first to study the relationship of symptoms to genera and species of fungi. They found that in those patients who carried Saccharomyces or Cryptococci there were no symptoms referable to a mycotic infection and that only patients who carried one of three Candida species, albicans, stellatoidea, and tropicalis, had symptoms.The purpose of this paper is to present the incidence of Trichomonas vaginalis and species of yeastlike fungi found in this survey and to study any association of symptoms with the two types of infection.