Prevalence of bacterial vaginosis in mangalore

Background: Bacterial vaginosis is a common cause of abnormal discharge in women of reproductive age and can lead into a variety of obstetric and gynecologic complications. Objective: To study the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis in and around Mangalore and to correlate cases of bacterial vaginosis with clinical history, family income, douching, IUD usage and vaginal flora patterns. Materials & Methods: Clinical history and other details were taken from 527 women under study and vaginal swabs were collected. Swabs were used for determination of pH of vaginal discharge, whiff test, wet mount, gram's stain and culture. Diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis was done by Amsel's and Nugent's criteria. Results and Conclusions: Of the 527 women under study, we diagnosed 100 (19%) cases of bacterial vaginosis by Nugent's method and 97 (18%) cases by Amsel's criteria. Of 527 women studied, 108 (20.5%) women had candidiasis and 4 (0.8%) had trichomoniasis. Bacterial vaginosis was more prevalent 25% (P < 0.001) among non-pregnant women than in pregnant women 13%. Cases of bacterial vaginosis correlated with abdominal pain (P < 0.05) and abnormal discharge complaints (P < 0.001). Habit of douching and IUD usage did not correlate with cases of bacterial vaginosis. G.vaginalis and Bacteroides spp. were the predominant isolates in cases of bacterial vaginosis.