Prevalence and causes of vaginal complaints in women in Slovenia: importance of comprehensive laboratory testing
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6016/ZdravVestn.3450Keywords:
vaginal discharge, bacterial vaginosis, aerobic vaginitis, candida, sexually transmitted infectionsAbstract
Background: Women often experience abnormal vaginal discharge and other genital symptoms, which are due to disruptions in the vaginal microbiota (dysbiosis), vaginitis, and sexually transmitted infections. We wanted to determine the frequency of causes for these problems. We also examined the correlation between clinical diagnosis and laboratory test results.
Methods: A case-control study was conducted. Women who visited a primary care gynecologist for genital problems and corresponding control patients were included in the study. We performed clinical examinations and microbiological tests for bacterial vaginosis (BV), aerobic vaginitis (AV), candidal vulvovaginitis (CV), and sexually transmitted infections (STI).
Results: The study included 74 patients and 64 control subjects. The most common symptoms of patients were abnormal discharge, itching, unpleasant odour, and burning sensation. The most common cause was CV (39.2%), followed by BV (31.1%). One-fifth of the patients had at least one STI. AV was rare. Approximately 17% of patients had multiple concurrent causes of vaginal issues. Clinical diagnosis and laboratory findings matched in 26% of patients.
Conclusion: The results highlight the importance of comprehensive (syndromic) laboratory diagnosis in women with gynecological complaints. Narrowly focused laboratory diagnostics do not provide useful results due to the frequent concurrent presence of BV, AV, CV and STIs and the overlapping clinical signs of various causes of vaginal problems, which complicates the selection of appropriate treatment and leads to disease recurrence. In light of the results, more modern laboratory tests should be used.
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