title: Performance of BVBlue rapid test in detecting bacterial vaginosis among women in Mysore, India.
abstract: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common cause of abnormal vaginal discharge in reproductive age women. It is associated with increased susceptibility to HIV/STI and adverse birth outcomes. Diagnosis of BV in resource-poor settings like India is challenging. With little laboratory infrastructure there is a need for objective point-of-care diagnostic tests. Vaginal swabs were collected from women 18 years and older, with a vaginal pH>4.5 attending a reproductive health clinic. BV was diagnosed with Amsel's criteria, Nugent scores, and the OSOM BVBlue test. Study personnel were blinded to test results. There were 347 participants enrolled between August 2009 and January 2010. BV prevalence was 45.1% (95% confidence interval (CI): 41.5%-52.8%) according to Nugent score. When compared with Nugent score, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value for Amsel's criteria and BVBlue were 61.9%, 88.3%, 81.5%, 73.7% and 38.1%, 92.7%, 82.1%, 63.9%, respectively. Combined with a "whiff" test, the performance of BVBlue increased sensitivity to 64.4% and negative predictive value to 73.8%. Despite the good specificity, poor sensitivity limits the usefulness of the BVBlue as a screening test in this population. There is a need to examine the usefulness of this test in other Indian populations.
authors: Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, 11200 SW 8 Street, HLS 390W2, Miami, FL 33199, USA ; Public Health Research Institute of India, 89/B, 2nd Cross, 2nd Main, Yadavairi, Mysore 560020, India.
authors: Purnima
authors: P
authors: Madhivanan
authors: Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, 11200 SW 8 Street, HLS 390W2, Miami, FL 33199, USA ; Public Health Research Institute of India, 89/B, 2nd Cross, 2nd Main, Yadavairi, Mysore 560020, India.
authors: Karl
authors: K
authors: Krupp
authors: Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, 11200 SW 8 Street, HLS 390W2, Miami, FL 33199, USA.
authors: Tan
authors: T
authors: Li
authors: Public Health Research Institute of India, 89/B, 2nd Cross, 2nd Main, Yadavairi, Mysore 560020, India.
authors: Kavitha
authors: K
authors: Ravi
authors: School of Public Health, 50 University Hall, No. 7360, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
authors: Julia
authors: J
authors: Selezneva
authors: Public Health Research Institute of India, 89/B, 2nd Cross, 2nd Main, Yadavairi, Mysore 560020, India.
authors: Vijaya
authors: V
authors: Srinivas
authors: Public Health Research Institute of India, 89/B, 2nd Cross, 2nd Main, Yadavairi, Mysore 560020, India.
authors: Anjali
authors: A
authors: Arun
authors: Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, 11200 SW 8 Street, HLS 390W2, Miami, FL 33199, USA ; Division of Infectious Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
authors: Jeffrey D
authors: JD
authors: Klausner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016585:Vaginosis, Bacterial / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult