Vaginal flora in patients attended at the gynecological consults

The objective of the present work is to carry out a study to determine the frequency of bacterial vaginosis (BV) and other types of vaginal flora in sexually active women that go to gynecological consults at the Prevention and Social Assistance Institute of the Ministry of Education (IPAS-ME), Merida State, and the frequency of aerobic microoganisms as an etiological agent of such infections as well as the relation of some clinical and microbiological variables with different types of vaginal flora were also determined. One-hundred and thirty six patients who attended gynecological consults between February 2002 and November 2002 were studied. The clinical and microbiological diagnosis of BV and other types of abnormal vaginal flora was carried out using Amsel et al criteria and with Gram stain diagnosis using a scoring system by Nugent et al and Donders et al. The identification of the microorganisms was determined following conventional methodology. Statistical analisis was carried out using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 10 to calculate the chi square. Of the 136 patients , 34(25%) showed normal vaginal flora and 102(75%) abnormal vaginal flora, represented by the diagnostics of BV in 25%, aerobic vaginitis (AV) in 13.2%, vulvovaginal candidosis 11% and cytolitic vaginosis (CV) 25.7%. A significant statistical relationship (p<0.05) between the BV and Amsel et al criteria was found. The direct exam of Gramstained smear of vaginal discharge using the Nugent et al and Donders et al criteria confirmed the diagnosis of BV and distinguished it from AV. Gardnerella vaginalis was the most frequently isolated microorganism for patients with BV , while Streptococcus group B , Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were more frequently isolated for patients with AV. For adequate treatment of patients with different infection, it is important to carry out, in addition to a clinical exam, a direct exam of the Gram stained smear from vaginal discharge, which is a simple and accessible tool for any clinical laboratory. Gonzalez y col. / Revista de la Sociedad Venezolana de Microbiologia 2006; 26:19 26 20