BD Vaginal Panel assay results on the high-throughput BD COR system compared to the BD MAX system

Abstract

ABSTRACT Molecular-based assays demonstrate excellent sensitivity for the detection of vaginitis causes. Here, the high-throughput BD Vaginal Panel for BD COR System (VP-COR) performance was compared to that of the predicate, BD MAX Vaginal Panel for BD MAX System (VP-MAX). Clinical or contrived samples were used to determine the agreement between VP-COR and VP-MAX. Acceptance criteria for VP-COR agreement were as follows: bacterial vaginosis (BV) required a positive percent agreement (PPA) point estimate of ≥95% and a negative percent agreement (NPA) point estimate of ≥98%; Candida group, Candida glabrata , Candida krusei , and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) required a PPA and NPA point estimate of ≥95% [with lower bound of 95% confidence interval (95% CI) ≥90%]. PPA was 99.5% (95% CI: 97.5–100) and 97.9% (95% CI: 96.5–98.8) for BV contrived ( n = 516) and BV clinical ( n = 1,050) specimens, respectively. For the Candida group (clinical; n = 724), C. glabrata (contrived; n = 544), C. krusei (contrived; n = 522), and TV (clinical; n = 702), PPA was 99.4% (95% CI: 98.0–99.9), 100% (95% CI: 97.9–100), 100% (95% CI: 97.6–100), and 99.7% (95% CI: 98.3–100), respectively; the lowest lower bound CI value was 97.6%. NPA was >95% for BV contrived and BV clinical specimens. For the Candida group, C. glabrata , C. krusei , and TV, NPA was ≥98.9%; the lowest lower bound CI value was 97.3%. These results demonstrate the equivalent performance of the VP-COR assay when compared to VP-MAX. IMPORTANCE Vaginitis is common among women of reproductive age, resulting in around 10 million office visits a year. Diagnosis is often difficult due to its multiple causes—including bacterial vaginosis, vulvovaginal candidiasis, and trichomoniasis—as well as variation in symptom presentation. Typically, cases are identified with a combination of symptomology, medical history, physical examination, and office- or laboratory-based testing. These traditional techniques involve subjective elements and demonstrate varying sensitivity and specificity. Inaccurate or delayed diagnosis leads to continued symptoms, repeat visits, inappropriate treatment, and unnecessary costs. Alternatively, the use of molecular-based assays increases sensitivity for the detection of vaginitis causes. With the validation of the vaginal panel molecular assay on COR (a high-throughput platform), a workflow can be streamlined in high-demand laboratories while providing high sensitivity for vaginitis detection.