Comparison of five methods for the detection of fungal infections in vaginal secretions / 国际检验医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To compare the similarities and differences of the five detection methods used in the detection of fungi in vaginal secretions,and find the most sensitive、the most specific、the fastest、the most cost effective and the simplest method used in the detection of fungi in vaginal secretions.Methods A total of 442 patients were selected from the Department of Gynecology of Shenzhen OCT Hospital from May 2016 to August 2016.The vaginal secretion of 442 specimens was detected by using the methods of fungi culture、saline and KOH suspension method,Gram stain,Wright''s stain and Vaginitis Multi Test Kit.In these five methods,Fungi culture were using as gold standard to evaluate the specificity,sensitivity,negative predictive value,positive predictive value and accuracy of the other four methods.Results Using the fungus culture method to detect 442 cases of vaginal secretion,we found the positive rate of mycotic infection was 34.8%(154/442).Compared with the fungi culture method,the Specificity of saline and KOH suspension method was 97.9%,the sensitivity was 64.9%,the negative predictive value was 83.9%,the positive predictive value was 94.3% and the accuracy was 86.4%;the Specificity of Gram stain was 96.5%,the Sensitivity was 83.1%,the negative predictive value was 91.4%,the positive predictive value was 92.7% and the accuracy was 91.8%;the Specificity of Vaginitis Multi Test Kit was 84.7%,the Sensitivity was 46.8%,the negative predictive value was 74.8%,the positive predictive value was 62.0% and the accuracy was 71.5%;the Specificity of Wright''s stain was 96.9%,the Sensitivity was 78.6%,the negative predictive value was 89.4%,the positive predictive value was 93.1% and the accuracy was 90.5%.Conclusion Gram stain could be the most sensitive and specific method in the four methods,with highest accuracy,and the the fastest,the most cost effective and the simplest method for the detection of fungi in vaginal secretions.The accuracy of detecting fungi in vaginal secretions could be improved by the combination of Gram stain method in clinical work.