[Benefits of Affirm VPIII and L-PAP in the diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis].

Introduction: Bacterial vaginosis is a syndrome occurring in women of reproductive age, characterized by abnormal vaginal discharge and associated with gynecological and obstetric problems during pregnancy.

Aim: This study assesses the value of proline aminopeptidase (L-Pap) detection and DNA hybridization with the Affirm VPIII microbial identification test, as analytical tools for the diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis.

Material And Methods: Vaginal secretions from 406 women were collected and analyzed to investigate bacterial vaginosis with the Affirm VPIII commercial kit and the L-Pap reaction. The criteria of Nugent et al, and Amsel et al. were used to characterize patients with bacterial vaginosis syndrome. Results were analyzed with a 2 x 2 contingency table and evaluated by the chi-square test, at a significance level of P < 0.05.

Results: L-Pap showed a sensitivity of 92.2%, specificity of 93.4%, PPV of 91.7% and NPV of 93.8%. The Affirm VPIII method had a sensitivity of 91.1%, specificity of 94.7%, PPV of 93.1% and NPV of 93.8%. The diagnostic performance of the two tests showed no statistical differences. CONCLUSION. L-Pap and Affirm VPIII are both suitable tests for fast, accurate diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis.