The Effect of Trichomonal Vaginitis on Vaginal pH

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Abstract
Women prone to recurrent urinary tract infection show colonization of the vaginal introitus with urinary pathogens prior to the onset of acute cystitis. Two mechanisms are proposed to explain how the vagina normally inhibits the growth of Gram-negative organisms: acidity of vaginal secretions and; presence of a bactericidal substance or substances in the vaginal secretions. Vaginal pH affords the primary defense against Gram-negative colonization in premenopausal women. Events leading to changes in introital pH were not clear. To determine whether inflammation of the vaginal tissues might have a significant effect on pH, studies in women with Trichomonas vaginalis were compared to those in normal women. T. vaginitis may be one cause of recurrent cystitis in women. Normal acidity of the vaginal introitus probably retarded growth of colonic micro-organisms. Inflammation of the vaginal tissues leads to an increase in pH of the secretions and subsequent colonization of the vaginal introitus, which may predispose a women to cystitis. Whether other types of vaginitis have a similar effect was not known.