Bacterialvaginosis.

Phillip Hay

doi:10.12688/f1000research.11417.1

Abstract

Bacterial vaginosis is the most prevalent cause of abnormal vaginal discharge in women of childbearing age. It can have a major impact on quality of life and psychological wellbeing if frequently recurrent and strongly symptomatic. The use of molecular techniques to study the vaginal microbiome is increasing our understanding of the dynamic changes in flora that occur in health and disease. It might soon be possible to separate Gardnerella into different pathogenic and non-pathogenic species. Many groups are studying compounds that can disrupt the biofilm which is dominated by Gardnerella and Atopobium vaginae. Several studies in the last decade support the concept of bacterial vaginosis as a sexually transmitted infection.

Highlights

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most prevalent cause of abnormal vaginal discharge in women of childbearing age
It usually responds to treatment with antibiotics but can relapse rapidly, and reported rates of relapse are more than 50% within 3–6 months
They found that women using combined oral contraception (COC) (odds ratio (OR) 0.29) and depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) had significantly reduced rates of colonisation with BVassociated bacteria compared with those using condoms

Summary

Introduction

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most prevalent cause of abnormal vaginal discharge in women of childbearing age. Kenyon and Osbak discuss the interchange of bacteria from a woman’s vagina, oral and rectal microbiomes, and those of her partner and the partner’s other sexual contacts[28] This implies a role for BV-associated organisms in the gut to provide a source of recolonisation. Sex hormones and microbiota A study of 682 women looked at the correlation between contraceptive method and vaginal microbiome[32] They found that women using combined oral contraception (COC) (odds ratio (OR) 0.29) and depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) (OR 0.34) had significantly reduced rates of colonisation with BVassociated bacteria compared with those using condoms. A full discussion of these developments appeared recently in a whole journal issue devoted to the vaginal microbiome with a thorough editorial written by Crucitti[38]

Conclusions

Findings

38. Crucitti T