Reviewer ’s report  
 
Title: Secnidazole for treatment of bacterial vaginosis: A systematic review  
 
Version: 2 Date: 28 Aug 2019  
 
Reviewer: Reviewer 2  
 
Reviewer's report:  
 
PEER REVIEWER ASSESSMENTS: OBJECTIVE - Full research articles: is there a clear  
objective that addresses one or several testable research questions? (B rief or other article 
types: is there a clear objective?)Yes - there is a clear objective  DESIGN - Is the current 
approach (including controls and analysis protocols) appropriate for the  objective?  Yes - the 
approach is appropriate  EXECUTION - Are the experiments and analyses perf ormed with 
sufficient technical rigor to allow confidence in the results?  Yes - experime nts and analyses 
were performed appropriately  STATISTICS - Is the use of stat istics in the manuscr ipt 
appropriate?  Not sure - I am not able to assess the statistics in this study  INTERPRETATION 
- Is the current interpretation/ discussion of the results reasonable and not overstated?  Yes - 
the author's interpretation is  reasonable  OVERA LL MANUSCRIPT POTENTIAL - Has the  
author addressed your concerns sufficiently for you to now recommend the work as a 
technically sound contribution? If not, can further revisions be made to make the work 
technically sound?  Yes - current version is technical ly sound  PEER REVIEWER 
COMMENTS: GENERAL COMMENT S: The authors have revised the manuscript in 
accordance to the comments. The important data is represented in tabular form and there i s 
clarity. REQUESTED REVISIONS: The manuscript can be accepted for publica tion. 
ADDITIONAL REQUESTS/SUGGESTIONS: No  
 
Are the methods appropriate and well described?  
If not, please specify what is required in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Does the work include the necessary controls?  
If not, please specify which controls are r equired in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the data shown?  
If not, please explain in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are you able to assess any statistics in the manuscript or would you recommend an  
additional statistical review?  
If an additional statistical review is recommended, please specify what aspects require further  
assessment in your comments to the editors.  
 
I recommend additional statistical review  
 
Quality of written English  
Please indicate the quality of language in the manuscript:  
 
Acceptable  
 
Declaration of competing interests  
Please complete a declaration of competing interests, considering the following questions:  
 
1. Have you in the past five years received reimbursements, fees, funding, o r salary from an  
organisation that may in any way gain or lose financially from the publication of this  
manuscript, either now or in the future?  
 
2. Do you hold any stocks or shares in an organisation that may in any way gain or lose  
financially from the pu blication of this manuscript, either now or in the future?  
 
3. Do you hold or are you currently applying for any patents relating to the content of the  
manuscript?  
 
4. Have you received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an organization that 
holds  
or has applied for patents relating to the content of the manuscript?  
 
5. Do you have any other financial competing interests?  
 
6. Do you have any non -financial competing interests in relation to this paper?  
 
If you can answer no to all of the above, write ' I declare that I have no competing interests' 
below.  
If your reply is yes to any, please give details below.  
 
This reviewer has been recruited by a partner organization, Research Square. Reviewers with  
declared or apparent competing interests are not utiliz ed for these reviews. This reviewer has  
agreed to publication of their comments online under a Creat ive Commons Attribution 
License attributed to Research Square and was paid a small honorarium for  completing the 
review within a specified timeframe. Honoraria for reviews such as this are paid regardless of 
the reviewer recommendation.  
 
I agree to the open peer review policy of the journal. I understan d that my name will be 
included on my report to the authors and, if the manuscript  is accepted f or publication, my 
named report including any attachments I upload will be posted on the website along with the 
authors' responses. I agree for my report to be made available under an Open Access Creative 
Commons CC-BY license ( http://creativ ecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ). I understand that 
any comments which I do not wish to be included in my named report can be in cluded as 
confidential comments to the editors, which will not be published.  
 
I agree to the open peer review policy of the journal