title: The laboratory diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis.
abstract: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is an extremely common health problem for women. In addition to the troublesome symptoms often associated with a disruption in the balance of vaginal flora, BV is associated with adverse gynecological and pregnancy outcomes. Although not technically a sexually transmitted infection, BV is a sexually associated condition. Diagnostic tests include real-time clinical/microbiological diagnosis, and the current gold standard, the standardized evaluation of morphotypes on Gram stain analysis. The inappropriate use of vaginal culture can be misleading. Future developments into molecular-based diagnostics will be important to further understand this complex endogenous flora disruption.
authors.affiliation: Maternal & Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Money