Group B streptococcus carriage and XXXX : causal or casual? A case-control study in a GUM clinic population.

@entity1 @entity1109 @entity1892 @entity911 @entity325
OBJECTIVES: The isolation of @entity1892 ( @entity1892 ) on routine swabs taken from genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic attendees is a common finding. The relation of @entity1892 to @entity1109 is unclear, creating @entity911 about management. This case-control study tested the hypothesis that detection of @entity1892 on routine clinical specimens is not causally related to @entity1109 in female GUM clinic attendees. METHODS: Data were collected on all female GUM clinic attendees who had @entity1892 isolated from anogenital swabs between July 1999 and July 2001. Controls were randomly selected from all new and rebooking female GUM clinic attendees. Controls were group matched for age with cases and were included only if a sexual health screen was performed and the results of this were available. RESULTS: 118 cases and 308 controls were identified during the study period. There was no significant difference between cases and controls in @entity1 demographic or behavioural characteristics, the presence of @entity325 , or @entity1109 . There was no relation between symptoms and quantitative growth of @entity1892 reported by the laboratory in either cervical or urethral swabs. Only nine cases had high vaginal swabs taken, in whom there was a significant association between a heavy growth of @entity1892 and @entity1109 (p=0.008). CONCLUSION: The isolation of @entity1892 from routinely collected genital swabs in female attendees of a GUM clinic is not causally related to @entity1109 . We recommend that @entity1 should receive this advice and should not be treated with antibiotic therapy for this indication.
