title: [Benefits of Affirm VPIII and L-PAP in the diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Bacterial vaginosis is a syndrome occurring in women of reproductive age, characterized by abnormal vaginal discharge and associated with gynecological and obstetric problems during pregnancy.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study assesses the value of proline aminopeptidase (L-Pap) detection and DNA hybridization with the Affirm VPIII microbial identification test, as analytical tools for the diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Vaginal secretions from 406 women were collected and analyzed to investigate bacterial vaginosis with the Affirm VPIII commercial kit and the L-Pap reaction. The criteria of Nugent et al, and Amsel et al. were used to characterize patients with bacterial vaginosis syndrome. Results were analyzed with a 2 x 2 contingency table and evaluated by the chi-square test, at a significance level of P < 0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  L-Pap showed a sensitivity of 92.2%, specificity of 93.4%, PPV of 91.7% and NPV of 93.8%. The Affirm VPIII method had a sensitivity of 91.1%, specificity of 94.7%, PPV of 93.1% and NPV of 93.8%. The diagnostic performance of the two tests showed no statistical differences. CONCLUSION. L-Pap and Affirm VPIII are both suitable tests for fast, accurate diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis.
authors.affiliation: División de Investigación y Enseñanza, Hospital Juárez de México, Colonia Magdalena de las Salinas, México.
authors.forename: Rocío
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Flores-Paz
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rivera-Sánchez
authors.forename: Nancy Jannet
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Ruix-Pérez
authors.forename: Myriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arriaga-Alba
mesh_terms: D000626:Aminopeptidases / Q000032:analysis*; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D016585:Vaginosis, Bacterial / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D000626:Aminopeptidases; C022450:prolyl aminopeptidase