Absence of chromosomal damage in the lymphocytes of patients treated with metronidazole for Trichomoniasis vaginalis

Chromosomal analysis was carried out on the peripheral lymphocytes of 12 patients receiving metronidazole 200 mg t.i.d. for 7 days for Trichomoniasis vaginalis infections. Samples were taken before, during and 3 weeks after completion of treatment, each patient thus acting as her own control. No increase in the chromosomal aberration frequency was found for any aberration type, either for the individual or for the group means. Thus metronidazole during short-term treatment was not found to exhibit any clastogenic effect on human lymphocytes in vivo.