Probiotics for treating bacterial vaginosis

Bacterial vaginosis is said to be the most common vaginal syndrome affecting fertile, premenopausal, and pregnant women. Bacterial vaginosis is associated with important adverse health conditions and infectious complications. Therapy with oral or local recommended antibiotics is often associated with failure and high rates of recurrences. The dominance of lactobacilli in healthy vaginal microbiota and its depletion in bacterial vaginosis has given rise to the concept of oral or vaginal use of probiotic Lactobacillus strains for the treatment and prevention of bacterial vaginosis. This review investigated the evidence for the use of a single strain or cocktail of probiotics, administered orally or intravaginally, either alone or in conjunction with antibiotics for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis. Copyright (C) 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.