Prevalence of bacterial vaginosis in preterm and term labour: a one year study

Background: Presence of intra uterine infections is one of the important risk factors for preterm labour. Bacterial vaginosis is one of the commonest genital infections during pregnancy and the prevalence ranges from 4 to 64% depending upon the racial, geographic factors. Most of the cases of bacterial vaginosis during pregnancy are asymptomatic and goes unrecognized. Some of the studies state that treatment of bacterial vaginosis is not associated with reduction in preterm birth rates among mothers with no history of preterm birth. The present was conducted to study the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis in women presenting with preterm labour and term labour and to analyze the causal relationship between bacterial vaginosis and preterm labour. The study also recorded the outcome of maternal and neonatal complications associated with bacterial vaginosis Methods: An observational study was conducted on 100 patients with preterm and term labour. Swabs were collected from all the patients and bacterial vaginosis was diagnosed based on Amsel’s criteria. Pearson’s chi-square test was used to demonstrate the difference between both groups with respect to various categorical data. Independent t- test was used to compare the mean maternal age and mean gestational age at admission in both the groups. Results: The mean maternal age of members in preterm labour was 25.60+4.295 and of term labour was 25.38 ± 4.01 years. Among preterm labour group only 14 cases were suggestive of bacterial vaginosis and 2 cases among 25 cases in labour group. The proportion of cases who were diagnosed as BV positive based on Amsel’s criteria were found more in preterm labour group than term labour group and was found statistically significant (p value = 0.001). Significantly more number of patients in preterm labour group demonstrated culture swab positivity with pathogenic organisms than in term labour group and was found statistically significant with p value=0.048. Conclusions: The present study clearly demonstrates significant association of preterm labour with bacterial vaginosis. Therefore, the screening for bacterial vaginosis as a routine during pregnancy and its prompt treatment may reduce the risk of preterm labour. This will also go a long way in the prevention of neonatal complications due to prematurity.