Bacterial vaginosis Amsel criteria

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Sara Mehrsefat, M.D. [2]

Overview

For clinicians, BV is a common vaginal condition characterized by at least three of the following four Amsel criteria include thin, gray/white discharge, malodorous “fishy” discharge upon adding 10 % potassium hydroxide, high vaginal pH (>4.5), and identification of clue cells.^[1]^[2]

Amsel criteria

For clinicians, BV is characterized by at least three of the following four Amsel criteria:^[1]^[2]

Thin, gray/white vaginal discharge
Malodorous “fishy” discharge upon adding 10% potassium hydroxide
High vaginal pH (>4.5)
Identification of vaginal epithelial cells heavily coated with bacteria (clue cells)

“Clue cells” are epithelial cells that have had bacteria adhere to their surface – Source: https://www.cdc.gov/

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Center for Disease Control and prevention. Mortality and morbidity weekly reports. Sexually transmitted disease treatment guideline. (2015) https://www.cdc.gov/std/tg2015/tg-2015-print.pdf Accessed on October 20, 2016
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Amsel R, Totten PA, Spiegel CA, Chen KC, Eschenbach D, Holmes KK (1983) Nonspecific vaginitis. Diagnostic criteria and microbial and epidemiologic associations. Am J Med 74 (1):14-22. PMID: 6600371

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[CDC_MMWR-2015-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Center for Disease Control and prevention. Mortality and morbidity weekly reports. Sexually transmitted disease treatment guideline. (2015) https://www.cdc.gov/std/tg2015/tg-2015-print.pdf Accessed on October 20, 2016

[pmid6600371-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Amsel R, Totten PA, Spiegel CA, Chen KC, Eschenbach D, Holmes KK (1983) Nonspecific vaginitis. Diagnostic criteria and microbial and epidemiologic associations. Am J Med 74 (1):14-22. PMID: 6600371

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