Test characteristics of the Papanicolaou (Pap) and wet mount smears for detecting vaginal trichomoniasis*
| Type of smear | Number of comparisons | Study quality† | Weighted mean sensitivity (95% CI) | Weighted mean specificity (CI) | +LR | −LR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Abbreviations defined in glossary. LRs calculated from data in article. | ||||||
| †Level I=high quality; level III=low quality. | ||||||
| ‡Statistically significant heterogeneity is present. | ||||||
| Pap | 7 | All studies | 58% (43 to 73) | 97% (95 to 100) | 19.3 | 0.4 |
| 3 | Level I | 57% (51 to 63) | 97% (93 to 100)‡ | 19.0 | 0.4 | |
| 3 | Level II | 49% (18 to 80) | 99% (97 to 100)‡ | 49.0 | 0.5 | |
| 1 | Level III | 89% (79 to 98) | 88% (71 to 100) | 7.4 | 0.1 | |
| Wet mount | 31 | All studies | 68% (62 to 74) | 99.9% (99.8 to 100) | 680 | 0.3 |
| 12 | Level I | 58% (51 to 66)‡ | 99.8% (99.5 to 100)‡ | 290 | 0.4 | |
| 15 | Level II | 72% (62 to 81)‡ | 100% (100) | ∞ | 0.3 | |
| 4 | Level III | 82% (67 to 97)‡ | 100% (100) | ∞ | 0.2 | |