Vaginal secretions culture
A vaginal discharge culture is a test used to diagnose two conditions. These are the most common causes of vaginal discharge are:
- bacterial infections, or vaginosis
- yeast infections, also known as candidiasis
Your doctor may suggest vaginal secretions culture based on symptoms like foul-smelling discharge, greenish or blood-tinged discharge, itching or burning sensation, etc.
In over 90% of cases, the yeast will be Candida albicans. Other types of yeast, such as Candida glabrata, or Saccharomyces cerevisiae, are grouped under the label yeasts other than Candida albicans.
The cultures indicate bacterial vaginosis, usually due to an overabundance of the bacteria Gardnerella vaginalis. Other elements of the report, such as white blood cells and epithelial cells, help confirm the nature of the observations. Clue cells are vaginal cells lined with a large number of bacteria which ensures bacterial vaginosis.
The inappropriate result of vaginal culture can be misleading. Future developments in molecular-based diagnostics will be significant to further understand this complex endogenous flora disruption.
Culturing techniques are no longer suitable for determining normal or abnormal vaginal microbiota. Non-culture-based modern technologies revealed a complex and dynamic system mainly dominated by lactobacilli. The normal and the abnormal vaginal microbiota are complex ecosystems of more than 200
Figure 1:Difference of results taken by vaginal, cervical and urine culture (2)
bacterial species influenced by genes, ethnic background, and environmental and behavioral factors. (1) This means that vaginal secretion culturing is not one of the most sensitive methods to efficiently detect the causative agents of vaginal infections.
The treatment of vaginal infections with positive vaginal culture can be antibiotic or antifungal creams. These infections can be prevented by taking care of the hygienic conditions of your vagina, using clean undergarments, and properly washing the area.
References:
- Mendling W. (2016). Vaginal Microbiota. Advances in experimental medicine and biology, 902, 83–93. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31248-4_6
- Figure from https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Agreement-of-results-among-vaginal-swab-cervical-swab-and-urine-specimens-by-TMA-and_tbl2_6836373