Open AccessStrong correlation between urine and vaginal swab samples for bacterial vaginosis
Author(s) -
Deshanta Naicker,
Veron Ramsuran,
Meleshni Naicker,
Fazana Dessai,
Jennifer Giandhari,
Partson Tinarwo,
Nathlee Abbai
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
southern african journal of infectious diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2313-1810
pISSN - 2312-0053
DOI - 10.4102/sajid.v36i1.199
Subject(s) - bacterial vaginosis , gardnerella vaginalis , urine , lactobacillus crispatus , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , lactobacillus , biology , gynecology , bacteria , genetics
Background Vaginal swabs have been traditionally used for the diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis (BV). Currently, there are limited studies that have investigated the use of other sample types other than vaginal swabs for the detection of BV from South African populations. This study investigated whether urine can be used for the detection of BV-associated microorganisms in South African pregnant women. Methods One-hundred self-collected vaginal swabs and urine samples were obtained from women presenting for antenatal care at King Edward VIII Hospital in Durban. The BD MAX™ vaginal panel assay was used for diagnosing BV and droplet digital polymerase chain reaction was used to quantify Gardnerella vaginalis, Prevotella bivia, Atopobium vaginae and Lactobacillus crispatus . The absolute counts were determined on the QX200 Droplet Reader (Bio-Rad) using the QuantaSoft Software. Data analysis was performed with statistical computing software called R, version 3.6.1. Results Median copy numbers obtained for G. vaginalis and P. bivia across urine and swabs in BV-positive samples were not significantly different ( p = 0.134 and p = 0.652, respectively). This was confirmed by the correlation analysis that showed a good correlation between the two sample types ( G. vaginalis [ r = 0.63] and P. bivia [ r = 0.50]). However, the data obtained for A. vaginae differed, and a weak correlation between urine and swabs was observed ( r = 0.21). Bacterial vaginosis-negative samples had no significant difference in median copy numbers for L. crispatus across the urine and swabs ( p = 0.062), and a good correlation between the sample types was noted ( r = 0.71). Conclusion This study highlights the appropriateness of urine for the detection of microorganisms associated with BV.