Aerobic vaginitis in women undergoing early detection of cervical cancer in family health center

Abstract

Background: Aerobic vaginitis caused by commensal bacteria of the digestive tract and a very different concept from bacterial vaginitis. In 2002, Donders et al first characterized the term “aerobic vaginitis” (AV) and developed diagnostic AV criteria. As for bacterial vaginitis, which is considered the most common cause of dysbiosis, this concept was studied by scientists more than 100 years ago, and the Nugent criteria were developed and widely used in the clinic. The criteria determine the diagnosis of normal or bacterial vaginitis, but there is still no clear conclusion on whether the group belongs to the “Intermediate”. There has been no research on aerobic vaginitis in Mongolia, which is why we conducted this study. Aim: To detect aerobic vaginitis by determining the AB score in women undergoing early detection of cervical cancer at a family health center. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 100 women aged between 30 to 60 who are undergoing early cervical cancer screening at a family health center in Ulaanbaatar. Ethical permission was discussed at the Research Ethical Review Committee of MNUMS on March 25, 2023. Within the scope of the study, questionnaires were taken, vaginal secretions were collected from the participants, and aerobic vaginitis was determined by calculating the AB score using the GMD analyzer. Results: 27% (n=27) of the participants were diagnosed as aerobic vaginitis by AV score, 74% (n=20) were mild, 18.5% (n=5) were moderate, and 7.4% (n=2) were severe aerobic vaginitis. Also, the results of the study revealed vaginitis caused by fungi were in 5 women and bacterial vaginitis were in 2 women. Conclusion: In our study we enrolled 100 women. And the results show that 3 out of 10 women have aerobic vaginitis. Compared to women under 45 years of age, women over 45 years of age tend to have more severe vaginitis. Therefore, aerobic vaginitis scoring system may be important to medical doctors.