The Nugent Score is a Gram stain scoring system for vaginal swabs to diagnose bacterial vaginosis. It was first described in 1991 by R.P Nugent, whom it is named after. The Nugent score is calculated by assessing for the presence of large Gram-positive rods (Lactobacillus morphotypes; decrease in Lactobacillus scored as 0 to 4), small Gram-variable rods (Gardnerella vaginalis morphotypes; scored as 0 to 4), and curved Gram-variable rods (Mobiluncus spp. morphotypes; scored as 0 to 2) and can range from 0 to 10. A score of 7 to 10 is consistent with bacterial vaginosis without culture. The Nugent Score is now rarely used by physicians due to the time it takes to read the slides and requires the use of a trained microscopist.
References
Nugent score Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA