- 2022-06-13
- Reproductive health 19(1)
- Rongdan Chen
- Rong Li
- Wei Qing
- Yingxuan Zhang
- Zuyi Zhou
- Yi Hou
- Yiya Shi
- Hongwei Zhou
- Muxuan Chen
Study Design
- Type
- Meta-Analysis
- Population
- adult women with bacterial vaginosis
- Methods
- Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing probiotics adjunctive therapy to antibiotics alone or plus placebo
Background
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is one of the most common vaginal infectious diseases in female reproductive period. Although the existing view is that probiotic treatment may be one of the feasible methods for the treatment of BV, different intervention methods lead to different treatment results. Therefore, up-to-date and comprehensive evidence in this regard is essential for the development of intervention strategies.Objective
This meta-analysis aims to systematically evaluate the role of probiotics in the treatment of BV in adult women.Methods
We searched the databases of Embase, Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science and ClinicalTrials.gov for Randomized Controlled Trials published until November 7, 2021. Meta-analysis was performed by Revman5.3 software to systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy of probiotics adjunctive therapy in the treatment of BV. The literatures were screened and evaluated according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Chi-square test was used to test the heterogeneity between trials. Random or Fixed effect models were used to analyze the cure rate of BV.Results
Fourteen randomized controlled trials compared the efficacy of probiotics with antibiotic therapy (probiotics + antibiotics group) versus antibiotics alone or plus placebo (antibiotics (+ placebo) group) for BV [Risk Ratios (RR) = 1.23, 95% CI (1.05, 1.43), P = 0.009]. Three compared the efficacy of probiotics regimen (probiotics group) and antibiotics (antibiotics group) in the treatment of BV [RR = 1.12, 95% CI (0.60, 2.07), P = 0.72]. Another Three compared the efficacy of probiotics regimen (probiotics group) with placebo (placebo group) [RR = 15.20, 95% CI (3.87, 59.64), P < 0.0001].Conclusion
Our meta-analysis suggests probiotics may play a positive role in the treatment of BV, but more strong evidence is needed.