Overall , lactobacilli were beneficial for the treatment of patients with bacterial vaginosis .
No clear benefit was seen for c and idiasis or urinary tract infection .
In conclusion , the use of certain lactobacillus strains such as L. rhamnosus GR-1 and L. reuteri for prevention and treatment of recurrent urogenital infection is promising , especially for recurrent bacterial vaginosis .
Abstract Probiotics are increasingly being used to treat and prevent urogenital infections .
However , a critical assessment of their efficacy in major urogenital infections is lacking .
We report the results of a systematic review to determine the efficacy of probiotics for prevention or treatment of three major urogenital infections : bacterial vaginosis , vulvovaginal c and idiasis , and urinary tract infection .
Symptomatic candidiasis: Using self sampled vaginal smears to establish the presence of Candida, lactobacilli, and Gardnerella vaginalis.
In a prospect i ve cohort study , 10 symptomatic women with recurrent vulvovaginal c and idiasis were taught how to prepare vaginal smears of their own vaginal fluids on days 7 , 14 , 21 , and 28 . The 40 smears were stained with the PAS- method and examined by three different cytopathologists for presence of C and ida . Thereafter , the smears were restained with Giemsa-stain to determine presence of lactobacilli , Gardnerella vaginalis ( " clue cells " ) and neutrophils . All three cytopathologists unequivocally established C and ida blastospores and (pseudo)hyphae in 27 out of the 40 PAS-stained vaginal smears , whereas in the remaining 13 smears C and ida was not found . All 10 patients had C and ida  in their smears during the second half of their menstrual cycle . Self sample d smears prove to be reliable for establishing the presence of C and ida in symptomatic patients with c and idiasis . C and ida is associated with a lactobacillus-predominated vaginal flora , but with the absence of Gardnerella vaginalis . Further studies may be directed towards the interaction between the various members of the vaginal flora . This study should open molecular methodology for determining the possible interactions of lactobacilli and C and ida
Overall , lactobacilli were beneficial for the treatment of patients with bacterial vaginosis .
No clear benefit was seen for c and idiasis or urinary tract infection .
In conclusion , the use of certain lactobacillus strains such as L. rhamnosus GR-1 and L. reuteri for prevention and treatment of recurrent urogenital infection is promising , especially for recurrent bacterial vaginosis .
Abstract Probiotics are increasingly being used to treat and prevent urogenital infections .
However , a critical assessment of their efficacy in major urogenital infections is lacking .
We report the results of a systematic review to determine the efficacy of probiotics for prevention or treatment of three major urogenital infections : bacterial vaginosis , vulvovaginal c and idiasis , and urinary tract infection .