Document Type
Article
Original Publication Date
1994
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Infectious Diseases in Obstetrics and Gynecology
DOI of Original Publication
10.1155/S1064744994000499
Date of Submission
August 2014
Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Equate Strep B® test for clinical use in patients at high risk for complications from group B streptococcus (GBS) disease.
Methods: Vaginoperineal swabs were obtained from patients with preterm premature rupture of the membranes and/or preterm labor and semiquantitative GBS cultures and Equate® assay were performed.
Results: From May 14, 1990, to April 30, 1992, 650 patients were enrolled; 626 had both culture and Equate® results available, of whom 24% were colonized with GBS. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the rapid assay were 28%, 84%, 35%, and 79%, respectively. Although the prevalence of GBS was higher in patients with ruptured membranes compared with those with intact membranes, rupture of membranes did not affect test sensitivity or specificity.
Conclusions: We conclude that the Equate® rapid assay is not a sensitive method of GBS detection in high-risk patients.
Rights
Copyright © 1994 Hindawi Publishing Corporation. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Is Part Of
VCU Obstetrics and Gynecology Publications
Comments
Originally published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/S1064744994000499