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 .
Effect of lactobacillus in preventing post-antibiotic vulvovaginal candidiasis: a randomised controlled trial
Abstract Objective To test whether oral or vaginal lactobacillus can prevent  vulvovaginitis after antibiotic treatment . Design R and omised , placebo controlled , double blind , factorial 2 × 2 trial . Setting Fifty general practice s and 16 pharmacies in Melbourne , Australia . Participants Non-pregnant women aged 18 - 50 years who required a short course of oral antibiotics for a non-gynaecological infection : 278 were enrolled in the study , and results were available for 235 . Interventions Lactobacillus preparations taken orally or vaginally , or both , from enrolment until four days after completion of their antibiotic course . Main outcome measures Participants ' reports of symptoms of post-antibiotic vulvovaginitis , with microbiological evidence of c and idiasis provided by a self obtained vaginal swab . Results Overall , 55/235 ( 23 % ( 95 % confidence interval 18 % to 29 % ) ) women developed post-antibiotic vulvovaginitis . Compared with placebo , the odds ratio for developing post-antibiotic vulvovaginitis with oral lactobacillus was 1.06 ( 95 % confidence interval 0.58 to 1.94 ) and with vaginal lactobacillus 1.38 ( 0.75 to 2.54 ) . Compliance with antibiotics and interventions was high . The trial was terminated after the second interim analysis because of lack of effect of the interventions . Given the data at this time , the chances of detecting a significant reduction in vulvovaginitis with oral or vaginal lactobacillus treatment were less than 0.032 and 0.0006 respectively if the trial proceeded to full enrolment . Conclusions The use of oral or vaginal forms of lactobacillus to prevent post-antibiotic vulvovaginitis is not supported by these results . Further research on this subject is unlikely to be fruitful , unless new underst and ings about the pathogenesis of post-antibiotic vulvovaginitis indicate a possible role for lactobacillus
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 .