Significance of Unusual Microorganisms in Cervico-Vaginal Smears – A Tripod of Cases

Abstract

The commonly employed screening test for detection of cervical carcinoma is Pap smear examination. However, it can also be used for screening cervico-vaginal infections. Several microorganisms are encountered in Pap smears such as bacteria, fungi, parasites etc. The occurrence of few such organisms may be rare and when encountered should be reported with caution for several reasons such as to avoid unnecessary toxic anti-fungal therapy. Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease. The infection with Chlamydia and trichomonas may show changes in cells which mimic malignancy. So in our case report, we present three such cases and discuss the importance of reporting them.

Keywords

• aspergillus
• chlamydia
• leptothrix
• pap smear
• trichomonas vaginalis