Correlation Between the Clinical Diagnosis of Bacterial Vaginosis and the Results of a Proline Aminopeptidase Assay

OBJECTIVE The object of this study was to develop a simple and inexpensive test for detection of bacterial vaginosis (BV) in pregnant patients and to test its accuracy in a clinic population. METHODS We developed a modified proline aminopeptidase (PAMP) assay to detect BV and compared the results of the assay with the clinical diagnosis of BV. RESULTS The results of the PAMP assay in 55 asymptomatic and 50 symptomatic subjects significantly correlated with a clinical diagnosis of BV. The prevalence of BV in the asymptomatic population was 42% (PAMP assay) and 38% (clinical diagnosis). In the symptomatic population, it was 50% (PAMP assay) and 54% (clinical diagnosis). The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of the PAMP assay were 86, 85, 86, 78, and 91%, respectively, in asymptomatic patients and 89, 96, 92, 96, and 88%, respectively, in symptomatic patients. CONCLUSIONS The modified PAMP assay, which we describe, met our goals for simplicity, cost, and accuracy. We feel it could be best used as a screening test for BV in asymptomatic pregnant patients.