The Effect of Vaginal Probiotic Capsule On Vaginal Colonization and Treatment Results in Patients with Vulvar and Vaginal Candidiasis

Background and Objective: Generally, 75% of women experience vaginal candidiasis at least once in their lifetime. This study aimed to determine the effect of lactobacillus rhamnosus vaginal probiotic capsule on vaginal colonization and treatment results after treating vulvar and vaginal candidiasis. Materials and Methods: This double-blind clinical trial was conducted in 58 women suffering from vulvar and vaginal candidiasis (based on swab cultures). After treating the patients with clotrimazole 2% vaginal cream, the samples were randomly assigned to probiotic (n=28) and placebo (n=30) groups. While first group took lactobacillus rhamnosus vaginal probiotic capsules twice a day for one week, the second group used vaginal placebo capsules. The patients were examined regarding swab cultures, vaginal lactobacillus colonization, vaginal pH, and clinical symptoms of vulvar and vaginal candidiasis 2-5 days before and 1 month after taking the capsules. Then, the data were fed to SPSS and analyzed using Chi-square, Fisher’s exact test, repeated measures ANOVA, and post-hoc test. Results: The results showed no significant difference between the two groups concerning the results of fungal culture. Moreover, despite the increase in vaginal lactobacillus colonization in the probiotic group, no significant difference was found between the two groups at different time periods (p=0.255). The results also showed no significant difference between the two groups regarding the mean change of vaginal pH at different time periods (p=0.480). Conclusion: It seems that using vaginal lactobacillus rhamnosus probiotic capsules was somewhat effective in vaginal lactobacilli colonization in patients with vaginal candidiasis. However, it was not effective in pH changes and treatment results.