Resumo

HERNANDEZ, Francisco  e  MORAGA, Manuel. Valor diagnóstico de la tinción de Gram en las vaginosis bacterianas. Rev. costarric. cienc. méd [online]. 1997, vol.18, n.1, pp.49-58. ISSN 0253-2948.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is an alteration of the vagina, where normal microflora are replaced by non-Lactobacillus bacteria; also, common findings under these conditions are: presence of sticky white discharge with a pH > 4,5, test for amines and clue cells are positive. Gram stain of vaginal secretions scoring (0 to ++++); has been used to iagnose of BV the most reliab le morphotypes found in those secretions are: Gram-positive straight rods (Lactobacillus morphotype), Gram negative pleomorphic rods (Gardnerella morphotype), and Gram-negative curved bacteria (Mobiluncus morphotype). The prevalence of BV in 105 prostitutes from San José, Costa Rica, was analysed using there criteria: 65% were positive for VB. The group less than 40 years of age had more sexual contacts (>10/week) and the highest prevalence of BV. The finding of curved Gram-negative rods has more predctive value than the observation of Gram-negatives straigth bacilli (Gardnerella morphotypes), because only the former was singnificantly associated with B.V. These data enhace the relevance of use the Gram stain of vaginal discharge for diagnosis of BV.

Palavras-chave : vaginitis; vaginosis; bacteriana; Mobiluncus; Gardnerella; Tinción de Gram.