ABSTRACT
This is a prospective study of 297 Consecutive High Vaginal Swab (HVS) specimen from patients with vaginal symptoms at the laboratory of Butare University Teaching Hospital; South Province; Rwanda. The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis and the role of some micro-organisms and laboratory indices associated with it. The age range was 16-57 years with a mean of 30.8 years. The overall prevalence of bacterial vaginosis was 17.8and the highest percentage of 52.8(28) found in the age group of 21-30 years compared with the lowest percentage of 1.9(1) in the age group less than 20 years. Almost half of patients with trichomoniasis were found to have bacterial vaginosis (P0.05). The demonstration Clue cells in wet mount was found in significantly higher numbers (90.5) in women with bacterial vaginosis (P0.001; positive predictive value 90.4) while low sensitivity and positive predictive value were seen for vaginal discharge for detecting infection with bacterial vaginosis ( p 0.05; positive predictive value 26.0). Bacterial vaginosis is common among women with vaginal symptoms in Rwanda as showed by gram stain examination. Further research into this pathology in other Rwandan women populations is needed