Trichomonas vaginalis, a causative agent of trichomoniasis, may trigger symptomatic or asymptomatic nongonococcal urethritis and chronic prostatitis in men.
Despite the availability of highly sensitive diagnostic tests, such as nucleic acid amplification tests, including PCR, few prospective studies present data on male T. vaginalis infection in South Korea. In the present study, the prevalence of T. vaginalis and associated clinical conditions were evaluated in 201 male patients from a primary care urology clinic in South Korea. The prevalence of T. vaginalis infection in our cohort was 4% (8/201) by PCR. T. vaginalis infection was common in men older than 40 years (median age, 52 years). Among the 8 Trichomonas-positive patients, 87.5% (7/8) had prostatic diseases, such as prostatitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia, and 25.0% (2/8) and 12.5% (1/8) were coinfected with Chlamydia trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium, respectively. Our results suggest that T. vaginalis infection is not rare in men attending primary care urology clinics in South Korea, especially in those older than 40 years, in whom it may explain the presence of prostatic disease. The possibility of T. vaginalis infection should be routinely considered in older male patients with prostatic diseases in South Korea.
Written by:
Seo JH, Yang HW, Joo SY, Song SM, Lee YR, Ryu JS, Yoo ES, Lee WK, Kong HH, Lee SE, Lee WJ, Goo YK, Chung DI, Hong Y. Are you the author?
Top Urology Clinic, Daegu 704-821, Korea; Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu 700-422, Korea; Department of Environmental Biology and Medical Parasitology, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul 133-791, Korea; Department of Urology, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu 700-422, Korea; Center of Biostatistics, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu 700-422, Korea; Department of Parasitology, Dong-A University College of Medicine, Busan 602-714, Korea; Division of Malaria and Parasitic Diseases, Korea National Institute of Health, Korea Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, Osong 363-951, Korea.
Reference: Korean J Parasitol. 2014 Oct;52(5):551-5.
doi: 10.3347/kjp.2014.52.5.551
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 25352707