Abstract
BackgroundVaginal infections usually caused by Candida sp, organisms responsible for bacterial vaginosis and Trichomonas vaginalis are associated with considerable discomfort and adverse outcomes during pregnancy and child birth. The study determined the prevalence of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), bacterial vaginosis (BV) and trichomoniasis (TV) in pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at the Kintampo Municipal Hospital.MethodsA study adopted a cross sectional design and recruited 589 pregnant women after seeking their informed consent from September, 2014 to March, 2015. Semi-structured questionnaire were administered to participants and vaginal swabs were collected. The samples were analysed using wet mount method and Gram stain (Nugent criteria) for vaginal infection. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to investigate association of risk factors to vaginal infections.ResultsThe overall prevalence of at least one vaginal infection was 56.4%. The prevalence of vulvovaginal candidiasis, bacterial vaginosis and trichomoniasis were 36.5, 30.9 and 1.4% respectively. Women with more than four previous pregnancies (OR: 0.27, 95% CI: 0.13–0.58) and those in the third trimester of pregnancy (OR: 0.54, CI: 0.30–0.96) were associated with a lower risk of bacterial vaginosis. Douching and antibiotic use were neither associated with VVC or BV.ConclusionThe prevalence of vaginal infections was high among pregnant women in the Kintampo area. There is the need for interventions such as adequate investigations and early treatment of vaginal infections to reduce the disease burden to avoid associated complications.
Highlights
Vaginal infections usually caused by Candida sp, organisms responsible for bacterial vaginosis and Trichomonas vaginalis are associated with considerable discomfort and adverse outcomes during pregnancy and child birth
This study focused on the three most common Reproductive tract infection (ReTI) which include vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), bacterial vaginosis (BV), and trichomoniasis (TV) which have been association with poor pregnancy outcomes but typically unattended to [3, 5, 6]
Risk factors for vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and bacterial vaginosis (BV) In VVC, univariate and multivariate were not significantly associated with all possible risk factors in the analysis (Table 2)
Summary
Vaginal infections usually caused by Candida sp, organisms responsible for bacterial vaginosis and Trichomonas vaginalis are associated with considerable discomfort and adverse outcomes during pregnancy and child birth. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports an estimated 357 million new cases of curable reproductive tract infection (ReTI) or sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia infection, and trichomoniasis) which occur annually in adults. TV is caused by Trichomonas vaginalis responsible for an estimated 180 million infections per year, making it the most prevalent non-viral sexually transmitted pathogen worldwide [23]. Symptomatic patients experience signs and symptoms such as vulvovaginal erythema, dysuria, pruritus, edema, frothy yellow-gray or green vaginal discharge and an elevated pH (> 6)
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