Audit of diagnostic criteria for Trichomonas vaginalis in a genitourinary medicine clinic.

A comparison between high vaginal swab (HVS) wet prep examination within the genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic and that made from an HVS transported in Amies charcoal medium to the laboratory for the diagnosis of Trichomonas vaginalis was made in a prospective study. Clinic wet prep compared with Amies had a sensitivity of 68% and specificity of nearly 100%. Using the clinic wet prep alone, 9/30 (30%) cases would have been missed.