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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The US Preventive Services Task Force is advising doctors not to screen pregnant women for bacterial vaginosis, commonly referred to as BV, if they are at low risk for preterm delivery -- because treating BV offers no benefit.
BV -- vaginal inflammation caused by the bacterium Gardnerella vaginalis -- is common, and is known to increase the chances of preterm delivery.
The latest recommendations, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, stem from a review of seven clinical trials looking at screening for and treating BV during pregnancy, and on the USPSTF's last report in 2001.
As noted, the review turned up no evidence that screening and treatment was beneficial for women at low or average risk for preterm delivery.
Whether pregnant women at high-risk for preterm delivery should be screened is unclear, because at present there is simply not enough data to weigh the benefits and harms.
"Given the lack of net benefit, the USPSTF recommends against routine screening for bacterial vaginosis in low-risk, pregnant women," the report concludes.
SOURCE: Annals of Internal Medicine, February 4, 2008.
