Etiological characterization of abnormal vaginal discharge in women of reproductive age group in a rural area of Haryana, India

Megha Maheshwari; L. Sumitra Devi; Bindu Yadav; Poonam Jhamb

Volume : VI, Issue : XI, November - 2017

Etiological characterization of abnormal vaginal discharge in women of reproductive age group in a rural area of Haryana, India

Megha Maheshwari, L. Sumitra Devi, Bindu Yadav, Poonam Jhamb

Abstract :

Reproductive tract infections including sexually transmitted infections are an important cause of morbidity among women. A syndromic case management strategy is usually adopted to treat these infections. Most common presentation of RTI/STI is vaginal discharge. However not all cases of vaginal discharge have an infectious etiology leading to overtreatment and associated consequences. Also the prevalence of different organisms may vary in different geographical areas. This study was undertaken to find out the infectious causes of vaginal discharge in population catered by our hospital. A total of 100 patients presenting with complaints of vaginal discharge were included in the study. Swabs were collected from the vaginal discharge from the patients and subjected to wet mount, gram staining and culture on Blood agar for detection of different organisms. Infectious etiology could be detected in 58% patients. Most common etiology seen was bacterial vaginosis (30%), followed by Candidiasis (18%) and Trichomoniasis (4%). In approximately half of the study population no infectious etiology could be detected. This study indicates that for rational management of patients syndromic approach should be supported by laboratory diagnosis wherever possible.