Evaluation of the effectiveness of correction of vagina dysbiosis with the use of vaginal prebiotic complex in women with risk factors of spontaneous premature birth

Abstract

Dysbiotic changes in microbial ecosystem of the female lower genital tract are risk factors for spontaneous abortions, spontaneous preterm births, intra-amniotic infection, postpartum endometritis, and adverse perinatal outcomes. However, the opinions about the expediency of antimicrobial therapy in women with bacterial vaginosis and a history of preterm birth are controversial, and discussions and the search for an effective method of treatment are still continuing. Treatment of dysbiosis of the vaginal microbiota requires a complex approach for not only the pathogen elimination, but also for the restoring of the normal vaginal biotope. The objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of correction of dysbiotic disorders of the vaginal microbiota in women with risk factors for premature birth using the prebiotic topical therapy. Materials and methods. The studied cohort included 105 women with risk factors for premature birth. I group included 38 women at the stage of pregnancy planning, II group – 39 pregnant women, III group – 28 pregnant women from the moment of their first visit to the female consultation for pregnancy monitor. The control group included 20 conditionally healthy pregnant women at the same gestational age. The patients of the I and II groups after diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis (BV), vulvovaginal candidiasis, or aerobic vaginitis received etiotropic topical therapy in accordance with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and International Union against sexually transmitted infections. Bacterial vaginosis was treated by clindamycin cream (2 %) once a day for 7 days; aerobic vaginitis – vaginal tablets which contain 10 mg of dequalinium chloride for 6 days; candida vaginitis – fenticonazole 600 mg in one vaginal capsule once followed by topical application of a prebiotic complex (oligosaccharide, sodium hyaluronate, xylitol, vitamins, lactose) for 10 days. Then pH balance and normocenosis of the vagina were supported by the use of one vaginal capsule of the prebiotic complex per week till the 22nd week of gestation. The pregnant women in the III group with similar pathologies received only classical antimicrobial therapy with antibiotics and/or antifungal drugs. The assessment of the vaginal microbiota was carried out at the time of the patients inclusion in the study and at the 17–19 weeks of gestation by determination of the vaginal pH and using molecular biological and bacterioscopic methods. Results. The effectiveness of BV and mixed vaginitis therapy in all groups was high, the frequency of BV detection after treatment decreased from 28.9 % to 2.6 % in the I group and from 32.1 % to 3.6 % – in the III group. In the I and II groups, in which the patients received complex treatment with the prebiotic complex, the quantity of women with normocenosis of the vagina increased significantly (from 39.5 % to 89.5 % in the I group; from 35.9 % to 89.7 % in the II group), the frequency of the intermediate state of the vaginal microbiota decreased twice (from 13.2 % to 7.9 % in the I group and from 15.4 % to 7.7 % in the II group). In patients of the III group, the incidence of normocenosis increased slightly (from 32.1 % to 39.3 %), but the rate of pregnant women with an intermediate state of vaginal microbiota increased significantly (from 14.3 % to 46.4 %), which is a threat to the recurrence of dysbiotic processes. Conclusions. The topical use of the prebiotic complex, which contains oligosaccharide, sodium hyaluronate, xylitol, vitamins and lactose, is effective in the management of symptoms and pathogenic load in uncomplicated vaginal infection, which is manifested by a decrease in the prevalence of intermediate states of the microbiota and a steady increase in normocenosis. The complex therapy with antibiotics/antifungal agents with a vaginal prebiotic complex provides an effective restoration of the vaginal flora to the state of normocenosis compared to treatment with antibiotics/antifungal agents only.