eMedicine Specialties > Emergency Medicine > Infectious Diseases

Trichomoniasis: Follow-up

Author: R Gentry Wilkerson, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, State University of New York-Downstate; Attending Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Kings County Hospital
Coauthor(s): Richard H Sinert, DO, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Research Director, State University of New York College of Medicine; Consulting Staff, Department of Emergency Medicine, Kings County Hospital Center; Benjamin W Friedman, MD, Staff Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Jacobi/Montefiore Medical Centers; Judith C Brillman, MD, Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Assistant Dean, Graduate Medical Education, University of New Mexico School of Medicine
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Oct 22, 2009

Follow-up

Further Outpatient Care

  • Patients with trichomoniasis who become asymptomatic or who are asymptomatic to begin with do not require routine follow-up.
  • Partner testing
  • Retesting for infection clearance or given resistance
  • Referral for HIV/STD testing

Deterrence/Prevention

  • Condom use may be protective against trichomoniasis.
  • Circumcision
  • Abstinence

Complications

Prognosis

  • Recurrent T vaginalis infections occur in up to 30% of patients.

Patient Education

  • Upon diagnosis, discuss the importance of treatment and the treatment of partners with the patient. Discuss methods of prevention. It may also be important to explain that the infection may have been long-standing and not due to a recent encounter.
  • For patient education resources, see the CDC's Fact Sheet. Also see eMedicineHealth's patient education articles on Trichomoniasis and Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

Miscellaneous

Medicolegal Pitfalls

  • Failure to recognize the infection may result in complications in pregnancy. The medicolegal implications are unclear, as it has not been demonstrated that treatment of trichomoniasis reduces the incidence of complications.
 
Acknowledgments

The authors and editors of eMedicine gratefully acknowledge the medical review of this article by Joseph U Becker, MD.



More on Trichomoniasis

Overview: Trichomoniasis
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Trichomoniasis
Treatment & Medication: Trichomoniasis
Follow-up: Trichomoniasis
Multimedia: Trichomoniasis
References
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Further Reading

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Keywords

trichomoniasis, trichomonas, STD, sexually transmitted disease, vaginitis, urethritis, infection of the adnexa, infection of the endometrium, infection of the Skene glands, infection of the Bartholin glands, nongonococcal urethritis, infection of the prostate, infection of the foreskin, infection of the glans, infection of the epididymis, cervicitis, pelvic inflammatory disease

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

R Gentry Wilkerson, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, State University of New York-Downstate; Attending Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Kings County Hospital
R Gentry Wilkerson, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine and American College of Emergency Physicians
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Richard H Sinert, DO, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Research Director, State University of New York College of Medicine; Consulting Staff, Department of Emergency Medicine, Kings County Hospital Center
Richard H Sinert, DO is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Benjamin W Friedman, MD, Staff Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Jacobi/Montefiore Medical Centers
Benjamin W Friedman, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Judith C Brillman, MD, Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Assistant Dean, Graduate Medical Education, University of New Mexico School of Medicine
Judith C Brillman, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American Association of Women Emergency Physicians, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Theodore J Gaeta, DO, MPH, FACEP, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Joan and Sanford Weill Medical College at Cornell University; Vice Chairman and Program Director of Emergency Medicine Residency Program, Department of Emergency Medicine, New York Methodist Hospital; Academic Chair, Adjunct Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, St George's University School of Medicine
Theodore J Gaeta, DO, MPH, FACEP is a member of the following medical societies: Alliance for Clinical Education, American College of Emergency Physicians, Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine, Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors, New York Academy of Medicine, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: eMedicine Salary Employment

Managing Editor

Mark L Plaster, MD, JD, Executive Editor, Emergency Physicians Monthly
Mark L Plaster, MD, JD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine and American College of Emergency Physicians
Disclosure: M L Plaster Publishing Co LLC Ownership interest Management position

CME Editor

John D Halamka, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Chief Information Officer, CareGroup Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School; Attending Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
John D Halamka, MD, MS is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Rick Kulkarni, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Section of Emergency Medicine, Yale-New Haven Hospital
Rick Kulkarni, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: WebMD Salary Employment

 
 
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