Keywords

Vulvovaginal Infections, Vaginal Candidiasis, Recurrent Vaginal Infections, Vaginal Dysbiosis, Probiotics, Lactobacillus.

Abstract

Vaginal infections such as Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) and Vulvovaginal Candidiasis (VVC) affect women globally, causing not only significant uncomfortable physical symptoms, psychological distress, and economic burden but also health complications that can have important repercussions later. Despite the standard treatment of using antifungals or antibiotics, recurrency is a prominent issue, which brings using probiotics as a complementary therapy to restore the vaginal microbiome and prevent another episode. This systematic review evaluates the efficacy of probiotics as a complementary treatment to reduce the recurrence rates of BV and VVC, as primary adjuncts to conventional therapies, or as a standalone option.

A comprehensive search of databases (PubMed, Web of Science, etc.) identified seven clinical trials that met the inclusion criteria. Studies were evaluated for quality using the Jadad scale, and only those scoring above 3 were included in the review. The findings revealed mixed results; some studies showed improved recurrence rates, while others showed no significant advantages of using probiotics. In addition, other studies showed that probiotics derived from vaginal strains demonstrated efficacy comparable to antifungals, whereas intestinal-derived strains were less effective.

This review highlights that probiotics can help reduce recurrence, particularly as complementary to the standard treatment, and, by itself. However, variability and inconsistency of the studies, such as probiotics strains, patient population, and length of the study, can impede a robust and solid answer to whether probiotics should become part of the treatment to prevent recurrence. Therefore, future research ought to pivot on standardized and consistent clinical trials for more definite findings that can further support the use of probiotics.

Thesis Completion Year

2025

Thesis Completion Semester

Spring

Thesis Chair

Ahangari, Raheleh

College

College of Medicine

Thesis Discipline

Biomedical Sciences

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus Access

None

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Rights Statement

In Copyright