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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Infectious Agents and Disease
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1428590

Efficacy of Limosilactobacillus fermentum in the Management of Vulvovaginal Candidiasis: Comparative Analysis with Topical Miconazole in a Single-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial

Provisionally accepted
Emanuele Chisari Emanuele Chisari *Marco Pane Marco Pane
  • Probiotical SpA, Novara, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) significantly impacts women's quality of life and often shows a high recurrence rate despite conventional antifungal therapies. This study evaluates the efficacy of Limosilactobacillus fermentum (LF5), a probiotic, as an alternative treat-ment option to conventional miconazole therapy in managing VVC. The randomized, single-blind clinical trial involved 100 premenopausal women diagnosed with VVC. Participants were assigned to either a vaginal capsule containing LF5 probiotic strain or miconazole. Treatments were administered once daily for three consecutive days. Microbiological eradication of Candida spp. and recurrence rates were assessed at 30 days post-treatment. The trial was registered with the Italian Ministry of Health. Both treatments achieved a high rate of microbiological eradication of Candida spp. within the three-day treatment period (96% for LF5 and 94% for miconazole). Recurrence rates within two weeks posttreatment were low and similar between the groups (10% for LF5 and 17% for miconazole). LF5 was found to have a significantly lower incidence of local adverse reactions compared to miconazole (4% vs. 12%). LF5 presents a viable alternative to miconazole for the treatment of VVC, offering comparable efficacy with fewer side effects. The results suggest that probiotic treatments can potentially enhance patient compliance and quality of life by reducing adverse reactions and recurrence rates. Further research is needed to confirm these findings in larger and more diverse populations.

    Keywords: vulvovaginal candidiasis, Probiotics, Limosilactobacillus fermentum, Miconazole, Clinical Trial, treatment efficacy, Recurrence rate

    Received: 06 May 2024; Accepted: 15 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chisari and Pane. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Emanuele Chisari, Probiotical SpA, Novara, 28100, Italy

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.