Assiut University Hospital - Women Health Hospital

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is one of the most frequently diagnosed infections in women attending genitourinary clinics. As 50% of cases of BV are asymptomatic, the true prevalence of this condition in the community is uncertain.Metronidazole (MTZ) is considered the drug of choice for the treatment of BV. It can be given either orally or locally. Formulations for the local administration of the drug include gels and suppositories.

The acceptance of suppositories is lower than the oral administration of the drug as they might cause irritation and thus affecting the patient's compliance. Moreover, the mode of administration of MTZ does not have a significant difference in the eradication of the pathogenic bacteria .

Among the metronidazole gels and lactic acid gels, for local application, lactic acid gels have been found to be more efficient and safer. The recurrence of BV is less common in patients treated with lactic acid gel when compared with patients treated with metronidazole gels. This may be attributed to the inhibition in the growth of the lactobacilli when MTZ is used for the treatment and depends on the concentration of the lactobacilli .

Intravaginal deliveries of MTZ for the treatment of BV have shown that there was an improvement in the clinical symptoms of the patients within 21-30 days of the starting of the treatment. Unfortunately, the vagina was not recolonized with lactobacilli within the stated period . The use of formulation consisting policarbophil-carbopol and lactic acid-chitosan mucoadhesive vaginal gels has also been reported and both of them have been found to be safe .

Cure rates following intravaginal treatment with MTZ account for 80-90% at the end of treatment and one month after the end of therapy. However, three months after the end of therapy the rate of relapses can overcome 30%. Persistence of an adherent bacterial biofilm, containing mostly Gardenerlla vaginalis is the main reason for failure of BV treatment .