Diagnosing vaginal infections through measurement of biogenic amines by ion mobility spectrometry

ObjectiveTo compare diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis according to the Amsel criteria with measurement by ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) of the biogenic amines that are present in vaginal discharge fluid.Study designDuplicate samples of vaginal fluid were collected from 115 unselected and consecutive patients in a vaginitis clinic in Detroit. All samples were evaluated using Amsel criteria and the results were compared with the diagnosis based on the IMS results.ResultsThe incidence rate of vaginal infections was assessed on the basis of both tests and the frequency of BV was found to be 17.4%. The sensitivity and specificity for bacterial vaginosis diagnosis using IMS determination were 95.5% and 98.9%, respectively, with an accuracy of 94.4%.ConclusionsThe results show that IMS may be used to rapidly diagnose this common vaginal infection with high accuracy.