An 18-year-old female presents with dysuria, vulvovaginal pruritus, and a frothy clear to white discharge. Which of the following results would be expected?

The presentation of the patient is indicative of Trichomoniasis, which is caused by the protozoan parasite Trichomonas vaginalis. The symptoms of dysuria, vulvovaginal pruritus, and a frothy clear to white discharge align well with this diagnosis.

When examining the vaginal discharge under a microscope using a normal saline preparation, the presence of mobile flagellated protozoa would be characteristic of Trichomonas vaginalis. These organisms are motile and can be observed moving, which helps in identifying this infection as the cause of the symptoms.

The other options represent findings associated with different conditions. Clue cells are typically seen in bacterial vaginosis, which does not present with the frothy discharge or pruritus. Hyphae and budding yeast on a KOH preparation suggest a yeast infection, such as Candida, which usually causes a thick, cottage cheese-like discharge rather than a frothy one. Intracellular gram-negative diplococci are indicative of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which presents with different symptoms such as purulent discharge and often co-occurs with Chlamydia, rather than the symptom profile noted in this case.

Therefore, the expected result for this patient presenting with