Bacterial Vaginosis and preterm delivery - An open question

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis in a population of Italian pregnant women and to study its association with adverse pregnancy outcomes,. particularly preterm delivery.STUDY DESIGN: After giving informed consent, 598 women were consecutively enrolled at their first prenatal visit (13-18 weeks of gestation). The presence of bacterial vaginosis was assessed by Gram's method at 13-18 weeks of gestation (early bacterial vaginosis) and at 28-32 weeks of gestation (late bacterial vaginosis). Univariate and multiple logistic regression models of analysis were used to assess the statistical significance of the data.RESULTS: Preterm delivery occurred in 14.7% of pregnant women positive for bacterial vaginosis at their first prenatal visit and in 6.9% of healthy women (OR 1.6, CI 1.07-2.51). In patients with bacterial vaginosis, preterm delivery occurred more often in the 36th week of gestation (78.6%).CONCLUSION. The presence of bacterial vaginosis at an early gestational age is associated,with preterm delivery, although in the study population the condition did not seem to be related to great prematurity.