Role of Bacterial Vaginosis in Peripartum Infections

Sample size: 390 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Penny Clark, Traci Kurtzer, Patrick Duff

Primary Institution: University of Florida

Is the presence of bacterial vaginosis at the time of delivery associated with the development of maternal and neonatal infection?

Patients with bacterial vaginosis and intermediate Gram's stains had an increased frequency of peripartum infection.

30% of the patients had bacterial vaginosis.
12% of women developed peripartum infection.
Bacterial vaginosis was significantly more prevalent among nonwhites than whites.
Women with intermediate Gram's stains had a higher incidence of neonatal infection.
The incidence of suspected or confirmed neonatal infection was higher in mothers with intermediate Gram's stains.

This study found that women with bacterial vaginosis are more likely to get infections after giving birth.

Vaginal fluid was collected from 390 laboring patients and analyzed using Gram's stain to determine the presence of bacterial vaginosis.

Potential bias due to the exclusion of patients who received antibiotics prior to enrollment.

The study was conducted at a single hospital and may not be generalizable to other populations.

The study included 390 laboring patients, with 88% being term and 12% preterm; 37% of nonwhites had bacterial vaginosis compared to 25% of whites.

0.005

95% CI, 1.07-3.73

p<0.05

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