Bacterial vaginosis and group B streptococcal colonization and preterm delivery in a low-risk population.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the relationship between bacterial vaginosis (BV) and group B streptococcal (GBS) colonization in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy and preterm delivery.


METHODS
1,197 pregnant women between 22 and 25 weeks' gestation had a high vaginal swab for assessment of BV and GBS. Exclusion criteria were: previous preterm delivery, or mid-trimester abortion or termination of pregnancy, multiple gestation, oligo- or polyhydramnios, placenta previa, fetal abnormalities, uterine malformations, cervical incompetence, cervical cerclage, or receipt of an antibiotic effective against BV or GBS following the screening. All women had no risk factors for preterm delivery. The primary outcome measure in this analysis was spontaneous preterm delivery before 37 weeks' gestation.


RESULTS
The preterm delivery rate was 8.7%, while the maternal BV and GBS colonization rates were 7.9 and 12.5%, respectively. Following adjustment for potential confounders BV was associated with an increased risk of preterm delivery (RR 2.19; CI: 1.21-3.98) (p = 0.01). On the contrary, GBS colonization was found to have a negative correlation with preterm birth (RR 0.43; 95% CI: 0.19-1.00).


CONCLUSIONS
Although BV is a risk factor for preterm delivery, GBS colonization in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy has an inverse correlation with preterm delivery.
1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Athens University, Athens, Greece.
George
G
Daskalakis
Angeliki
A
Papapanagiotou
Spyros
S
Mesogitis
Nikolaos
N
Papantoniou
Konstantinos
K
Mavromatis
Aris
A
Antsaklis
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016015:Logistic Models; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology; D016585:Vaginosis, Bacterial / Q000453:epidemiology*