Screening Pregnant Women for Bacterial Vaginosis Using a Point-of-Care Test: A Prospective Validation Study

Bacterial vaginosis in early pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth. The introduction of a simple screen-and-treat program into antenatal care was shown to significantly reduce the rate of preterm birth. The gold standard for diagnosing bacterial vaginosis is Gram staining,...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Philipp Foessleitner, Herbert Kiss, Julia Deinsberger, Julia Ott, Lorenz Zierhut, Klara Rosta, Veronica Falcone, Alex Farr
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-05-01
Series:Journal of Clinical Medicine
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/10/11/2275
Description
Summary:Bacterial vaginosis in early pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth. The introduction of a simple screen-and-treat program into antenatal care was shown to significantly reduce the rate of preterm birth. The gold standard for diagnosing bacterial vaginosis is Gram staining, which is, however, time-consuming and requires laboratory facilities. The objective of this prospective study was to validate a point-of-care sialidase activity detection test (<i>OSOM<sup>®</sup> BVBLUE<sup>®</sup> Test</i>) for asymptomatic pregnant women and evaluate its accuracy as a screening tool. We enrolled 200 pregnant participants, 100 with Gram staining-confirmed bacterial vaginosis and 100 healthy controls. Compared to Gram staining, the point-of-care test showed a sensitivity of 81%, specificity of 100%, positive predictive value of 100%, and negative predictive value of 98.1%. In conclusion, we found that the <i>OSOM<sup>®</sup> BVBLUE<sup>®</sup> Test</i> was an accurate method for diagnosing bacterial vaginosis in asymptomatic pregnant women. This point-of-care test can therefore be considered a reliable and easy-to-use screening tool for bacterial vaginosis during pregnancy.
ISSN:2077-0383