| Abstract |
Introduction: Regional establishment of microbiological profile helps in management of vaginal infections. The present study aims to profile the microorganisms associated with cervico vaginal discharges in females from low socio economic semi urban centres of a developing country causing STI syndrome. Materials and methods: Total 150 patients with complaint of vaginal discharges were studied. Cervico-vaginal secretions were obtained from females coming to the peripheral hospitals and Urban Health Centre, in Mumbai. Two high vaginal swabs were obtained from all the women. Gram’s staining, Pap stain, wet mount, amine test, pH and culture were done. Blood sugar level, anti HIV, HBsAg and RPR tests were performed. Descriptive statistics was used with mean (SD) for quantitative variables and number for categorical variables. Chi-square test for association was used to assess the significance of differences in the proportion of categorical variables between different groups. Results: Of the150 participants, 90% were found to be infected of which 47.4% had aerobic micro-organisms; Candida species (19.3%).Tests for HIV, HBsAg or VDRL were negative. No association was obtained between the levels of blood sugar and micro-organisms grown. Statistically significant (P < 0.0001) difference was observed in the proportion of samples positive for Trichomonas and Candida species. 48% were detected to have bacterial vaginosis by Amsel’s criteria while 24% and 30.6% were detected by Hay/Ison gradation and Pap smear respectively. Conclusion: This study indicates the need for further assessment of the trends that might be associated with vaginal infections and hence the modalities for their prevention.
KEYWORDS: Microbiological profile, criteria, vaginal secretions. |
