Diagnosis of Bacterial Vaginosis in Women in Labour

A prospective study on 120 women in labour was conducted to determine the reliability of of different methods like clinical criteria, gram staining and vaginal culture for diagnosing bacterial vaginosis(BV). To determine the laboratory methods that best predicted the BV we calculated sensitivity, specificity, predictive value of a positive and negative test for clinical criteria, gram stain criteria of Nugent and vaginal cultures compared with gram stain criteria of Spiegel. BV was diagnosed in 23.3% of women in labour by Spiegel criteria. Sensitivity and specificity of Amsel criteria was 60.7% and 97.8% respectively. Culture of vaginal specimens yielded 58.8% predictive value of a positive test except for Mobiluncus species. Gram stain evaluation of vaginal smears is a sensitive method for diagnosing BV. Amsel clinical criteria, which are more commonly used to diagnose BV, may lead to under diagnosis of BV.

Bacterial vaginosis and vaginal anaerobes in preterm labour.

Maternal genital infections, particularly bacterial vaginosis has been implicated as a cause for preterm labour and adverse pregnancy outcomes. This prospective study aimed to study the association of bacterial vaginosis with preterm labour. The prevalence of bacterial vaginosis was studied in 60 women in preterm labour who had no recognisable cause for prematurity and in 60 term labour controls. Demographic factors, pregnancy outcome and reproductive history were also studied. Vaginal specimens for Gram-stain and culture were collected from posterior vaginal fomix and bacterial vaginosis was defined by evaluation of Gram-stained smear by Spiegel criteria. Bacterial vaginosis was diagnosed in 31.6% of women in preterm labour and in 15% of term labour controls ( p<0.05). In preterm labour group, preterm delivery occurred in 48 women (80%) out of which 18 women had bacterial vaginosis and term delivery occurred in only one woman with the condition. Anaerobes were significantly associated with bacterial vaginosis ( p<0.01) and were more common in women with preterm labour ( b>0.05). The results indicates that bacterial vaginosis has a significant association with preterm labour and adverse pregnancy outcome.

Seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus among voluntary blood donors in Delhi, India.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is known to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality following blood transfusion in children and immunocompromised adults. In India, it is not mandatory to screen donated blood for CMV in blood banks. Very few studies have been conducted in India to estimate the seroprevalence of this infection in voluntary blood donors. This study was conducted to estimate the seroprevalence of CMV among voluntary blood donors in Delhi, India. In this study, none of 200 donors tested positive for CMV IgM antibody, but 95% were positive for CMV IgG antibody. There was no statistically significant difference in seropositivity of CMV based on distribution of age. Of the 200 donors, 3% tested positive for HBsAg, 1% for HIV, 2% for hepatitis C virus, and 4.5% for syphilis. Since about 95% of blood donors in India are seropositive for CMV, it would seem superfluous to screen blood donors for CMV, as very few seronegative blood units would be available for transfusion. Other preventive strategies, such as leukoreduction, etc., could be more appropriate and cost-effective for the prevention of transmission of CMV through infected blood to immunosuppressed individuals.

Characterisation & drug susceptibility patterns of extrapulmonary mycobacterial isolates.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: There is a paucity of information on extrapulmonary tuberculosis as much of the attention is focussed on pulmonary tuberculosis. This prospective study aimed at identification and characterisation of mycobacterial isolates from extra pulmonary sites and the evaluation of the drug susceptibility patterns of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from extrapulmonary sites using the conventional method and the E-test. METHODS: A total of 350 specimens from patients of extrapulmonary tuberculosis with varied presentation, were studied. Speciation and characterisation of isolates were done on the basis of growth and biochemical characteristics. Drug susceptibility testing for M. tuberculosis isolates was done by proportion method for isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol and pyrazinamide, whereas resistance ratio method was used for streptomycin. E-test (AB Biodisk, Sweden) was carried out to compare susceptibility patterns of the M. tuberculosis isolates for isoniazid and rifampicin with the conventional method. RESULTS: Thirty two of 350 (9.14%) patients clinically suspected to have extrapulmonary tuberculosis were culture positive for mycobacteria. On characterisation, 20 of the 32 isolates were identified as M. tuberculosis and 12 as non-tubercular mycobacteria (NTM) with 5 of the 12 being Mycobacterium avium complex. Among M. tuberculosis isolates both initial and acquired resistance was highest for streptomycin followed by isoniazid, rifampicin and ethambutol. No strain showed resistance to pyrazinamide. Two strains were found to be multidrug resistant. Drug susceptibility patterns by conventional method corroborate with the E-test results. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: This study shows that the characterisation and species identification of mycobacterial isolates along with drug susceptibility testing help in better understanding of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. E-test had the advantage of being rapid and simple without need for additional equipment.