title: Gardnerella infection as distinguished from cervical dysbacteriosis: the advantageous spin-off of cervical screening.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate cytologic diagnoses of dysbacteriosis and Gardnerella infection and to obtain insight into the diagnostic problems of Gardnerella.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred randomly selected samples of each of 3 diagnostic series were rescreened by 2 pathologists, resulting in 2 rescreening diagnoses and a consensus diagnosis. A smear was considered unequivocal when the original O code and the O code of the consensus diagnoses were equal and discordant when the flora diagnoses of the 2 pathologists differed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Discordance was highest in the dysbacteriotic series (20%) and lowest in the healthy group (4%). Unequivocal diagnoses were established in 65% of the dysbacteriotic smears, 80% of the Gardnerella smears and 93% of the healthy smears. Misclassification of Gardnerella occurred in the presence of clusters of bacteria mixed with spermatozoa.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Blue mountain cells in Gardnerella infection can be identified unequivocally in cervical smears. Because of the clinical importance of treating Gardnerella, such advantageous spin-offs of cervical screening should be exploited.
authors.affiliation: Leiden Cytology and Pathology Laboratory, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Johanna M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Klomp
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ouwerkerk-Noordam
authors.forename: Mathilde E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Boon
authors.forename: Maarten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Haaften
authors.forename: A Peter M
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Heintz
mesh_terms: D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006194:Gardnerella vaginalis; D006801:Humans; D015588:Observer Variation; D014626:Vaginal Smears; D016585:Vaginosis, Bacterial / Q000175:diagnosis*