Prevalence of Bacterial Vaginosis During Pregnancy in Tertiary Care Hospital, Lahore

Abstract

Introduction: Pregnancy is a condition usually associated with increased vaginal discharge including vaginal infections like bacterial vaginosis, leading to adverse perinatal outcomes due to disturbance in vaginal ecosystem that warrants further evaluation and timely management. Aims & Objectives: The study was conducted to determine the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy and its contributing factors. Place and duration of study: Out Patient Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore. Duration of the study was six months. Material & Methods: 120 pregnant females with age 20-40 years with singleton pregnancy of more than 12 weeks’ gestation were included. Women who were immunosuppressed and history of diabetes and hypertension and recent history of use of antibiotics were excluded. Vaginal swab specimen was taken & bacterial vaginosis was labelled after fulfilling Amsel criteria. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21. Results: In this study, 120 cases were taken and mean age of participants was 27.55±3.97 years. The mean duration of gestation was 18.76±6.14 weeks. Bacterial vaginosis (BV) was seen in 24 (20%) of the cases. BV was seen in 19 (20.65%) cases with age 20-29 years’ vs 5 (17.86%) cases in age group 20-40 years with p= 1.0. Bacterial vaginosis was nearly significantly high in multiparous women where this was seen in 13 (27.65%) cases as compared to 11 (15.06%) cases in primiparous women with p= 0.11. Out of 20 cases of bacterial vaginosis, low education was seen in 12 (60%) of the cases. Conclusion: The prevalence of bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy at local setup is high and is seen nearly in 1 out of 5 cases. This demands health educational programs to enlighten women regarding screening and early detection & treatment to prevent complications during pregnancy.