ArticleSexual medicine2021
Vaginal Microbiome Is Associated With Vulvodynia, Vulvar Pain Syndrome: A Case-Control Study.
Article in Sexual medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05478746 (Effects of Flourish HEC Vaginal Care System on Reduction of Pain in Women With Localized Provoked Vulvodynia), which is not on this map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effects of Flourish HEC Vaginal Care System on Reduction of Pain in Women With Localized Provoked Vulvodynia
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Molecular mechanisms and therapeutic perspectives in vulvodynia: From current evidence to future investigations.Cell reports. Medicine · 2026Review
- Epidural-Related Maternal Fever Is Associated With Structural Alterations in Vaginal Floral Homeostasis Among Parturients.Obstetrics and gynecology international · 2026Article
- Vulvar Care: Reviewing Concepts in Daily Hygiene.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Vaginal and rectal microbiome contribute to genital inflammation in chronic pelvic pain.BMC medicine · 2024Article
- Diet influences community dynamics following vaginal group B streptococcus colonization.Microbiology spectrum · 2024Article
- Menstrual Cycle Characteristics and Vulvodynia.Journal of women's health (2002) · 2022Article
- Vulvodynia associated with vulvovaginal microbiome: Neglected due to the COVID-19 pandemic?Ethics, medicine, and public health · 2022Article
- The Human Vulvar Microbiome: A Systematic Review.Microorganisms · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionVulvodynia, vulvar pain syndrome, is defined as vulvar pain of at least a 3-month duration without a clear identifiable cause, which may have associated factor and the etiology and treatment of this challenging disease is still unclear. Dyspareunia is a relevant symptom of patients with vulvodynia. Vaginal microbiome has known an important role in local immune-inflammatory responses and it may be important pathogenic mechanism in vulvodynia.
aimThe objective of this study was to investigate the association of vaginal microbiome and vulvodynia.
methodsWe analyzed the microbial compositions of the vestibule and vagina among women with clinically diagnosed vulvodynia (n = 22) and age-matched healthy controls (n = 22) without vulvodynia. The compositions of bacterial microbiomes were compared by pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA.
main outcome measureVaginal microbiome alpha and beta diversity were assessed using the Shannon diversity index and Heat map. Linear discriminant analysis effect size was used to find out marker for vulvodynia.
resultsThere were no significant differences in the age, duration of marriage, history of gynecologic surgery, parity, and menopause status between cases and controls. A total of 1,661,934 high-quality pyrosequencing reads was obtained to evaluate bacterial diversity, and 50,246 unique sequences represented all phylotypes. The type and mean number of the genera were not different between cases and controls. However, the most predominant phyla of bacteria were significantly different between cases and controls. 3 phyla (Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Tenericutes) and 11 genera including Gardnerella, Ureaplasma, Achromobacter, Mycoplasma, and Bifidobacteria were significantly more prevalent in cases than in controls (P < .05). Linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis suggest the Bifidobacterium, Mycoplasma, and Fenollaria species can be potential markers for vulvodynia.
conclusionOur results suggest the differences in vaginal microbiome can be associated with the vulvodynia. Park SY, Lee ES, Lee SR, et al. Vaginal Microbiome Is Associated With Vulvodynia, Vulvar Pain Syndrome: A Case-Control Study. Sex Med 2021;9:100314.
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