ABSTRACT
We assessed the acceptance of self-testing for vaginal pH in 344 Ugandan women in different clinical settings. Women tested themselves by insertion of a gloved finger into the vagina to test vaginal pH and provide a smear on a glass slide. None of the tested women found the test very difficult: 8% found it somewhat difficult, 16% rather easy and 76% very easy to do. Of the 20% who found it difficult to read the test result, more women were attending a family planning clinic or had a higher diploma (P = 0.001). Pregnant women were least likely to understand of the meaning of the test, while those visiting family planning clinics had the opposite experience. HIV-infected women were most motivated to accept: 95% would be happy to use the test more often if requested, and another 3.5% felt they might be better motivated to do repeat testing after extra explanation. Self-sampling of vaginal pH is well accepted by Ugandan women. Our new method also allows diagnostic work-up by formal microscopy. Before commencing large-scale population screening, unexpected reactions of different subpopulations should be taken into account.
Subject(s)
Patient Acceptance of Health Care , Reagent Strips , Self-Examination , Vagina/physiopathology , Vaginosis, Bacterial/diagnosis , Adult , Female , HIV Infections/psychology , Humans , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Motivation , Patient Acceptance of Health Care/psychology , Specimen Handling , Uganda , Vagina/microbiology , Vaginosis, Bacterial/microbiology , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnancy is associated with potential urinary and obstetric complications. However the prevalence aetiology and antimicrobial sensitivity patterns of asymptomatic bacteriurea among women attending ante-natal care in our Hospital is not known. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and identify the aetiological agents associated with asymptomatic bacteriurea in antenatal mothers in Mulago Hospital. We also intended to determine the anti-microbial sensitivity patterns of the common uropathogen in this population METHODS: We performed culture and anti-microbial sensitivity tests on urine samples from 218 consecutive ante-natal mothers in Mulago Hospital. All participants did not have any clinical symptoms attributable to urinary tract infection. RESULTS: Twenty nine (13.3%) of the samples had significant bacterial growth and E.coli was the commonest isolate (51.2%). There was a high level (20-62%) of anti-bacterial resistance to the commonly used antibiotics. CONCLUSION: Asymptomatic bacteriuria is common among ante-natal mothers in Mulago. E. Coli that is resistant to the most commonly used antibiotics is the commonest isolate."
