Trichomoniasis. Concentration of Pathogen DNA and Its Relationship with Clinical Manifestations of the Disease

Relevance. Trichomoniasis holds a leading position among sexually transmitted infections in Russia. However, there is currently a lack of lit-erature on the results of quantitative analysis of the protozoal load of the pathogen in both men and women. Objective. To investigate the level of protozoal load (DNA concentration) of T. vaginalis in patients with trichomoniasis and its relationship with the clinical course of the disease. Material and methods. Study subjects: 82 patients with trichomoniasis. Gender composition: 10 men and 72 women. Age range: patients aged from 17 to 73 years. Research material: urogenital scraping. Method of study: multiplex real-time PCR with quantitative determination of T. vaginalis DNA. Results. Patients with a low protozoal load of T. vaginalis predominated in the group of trichomoniasis patients (78.0%), including both men (60%) and women (81%). The severity of clinical symptoms was found to correlate with the level of T. vaginalis protozoal load, with a sta-tistically significant direct relationship observed in the overall group of patients (χ²=106.85; OR 42.48; p<0.001) among women (χ²=135.13; OR 451; p<0.001), and among men (χ²=63.19; OR 99; p<0.001). Conclusion. The level of T. vaginalis DNA concentration/protozoal load in the urogenital tract of patients influences the severity of trichomo-niasis symptoms. Quantitative determination of T. vaginalis protozoal load should be considered during initial diagnosis and when prescrib-ing etiological treatment for trichomoniasis. © 2024, Media Sphera Publishing Group. All rights reserved.