The results do not provide sufficient evidence for or against recommending probiotics for the treatment of BV .
BACKGROUND The dominance of lactobacilli in healthy vaginal microbiota and its depletion in bacterial vaginosis ( BV ) has given rise to the concept of oral or vaginal instillation of probiotic Lactobacillus strains for the management of this condition .
OBJECTIVES To ascertain the efficacy of probiotics in the treatment of BV .
A double-blind treatment study of bacterial vaginosis with normal vaginal lactobacilli after an open treatment with vaginal clindamycin ovules.
The expected 4-week cure rate after conventional treatment of bacterial vaginosis are only 65 - 70 % . In an attempt to improve the cure rate by adding probiotic lactobacilli we performed a double-blind placebo-controlled study of adjuvant lactobacilli treatment after an open treatment with vaginal clindamycin ovules .  Women with bacterial vaginosis as defined by Amsel 's criteria were treated with clindamycin ovules . Vaginal smears were collected and analysed according to Nugent 's criteria . During the following menstruation period the women used , as an adjuvant treatment , either lactobacilli-prepared tampons or placebo tampons . The lactobacilli tampons were loaded with a mixture of freeze-dried L. fermentum , L. casei var . rhamnosus and L. gasseri . The cure rate was recorded after the second menstruation period . There was no improvement in the cure rate after treatment with lactobacilli-containing tampons compared to placebo tampons ; the cure rates as defined by Amsel 's criteria were 56 % and 62 % , respectively , and 55 % and 63 % , as defined by Nugent 's criteria . This is the first study to report cure rates for women with ' intermediate ' wet smear ratings according to Nugent 's classification and this group had an overall cure rate of 44 % . The cure rate of treatment of bacterial vaginosis was not improved by using lactobacilli-prepared tampons for one menstruation
The results do not provide sufficient evidence for or against recommending probiotics for the treatment of BV .
BACKGROUND The dominance of lactobacilli in healthy vaginal microbiota and its depletion in bacterial vaginosis ( BV ) has given rise to the concept of oral or vaginal instillation of probiotic Lactobacillus strains for the management of this condition .
OBJECTIVES To ascertain the efficacy of probiotics in the treatment of BV .