Microbial infections in HIV/AIDS women with abnormal vaginal discharge in Lagos, Nigeria

Methods Three eighty seven (387) patients who presented to the HIV clinic with symptoms of lower abdominal pain, itching and abnormal vaginal discharge were selected after obtaining written informed consent. Patients on oral or vaginal medications for vaginitis were excluded. High vaginal/cervical swabs were collected, cultured and processed using standard microbiological methods. Anti-microbial sensitivity patterns of the isolates were determined. The characteristics of the discharge, vaginal pH >4.5, presence of ‘clue cell’ and Amine test with 10% KOH were used for Bacterial vaginosis (BV) investigations. The age range of study population was between 20 – 45 years with mean of 24+. All patients complained of abnormal vaginal discharge.One hundred and twenty (38.46%) had lower abdominal pain, itching / irritation 200 (64.10%) and 30 (9.61%) had sore and blisters on the genitals. Vaginal pH > 5.0 was recorded in 215 (68.91%) of the patients.