Observational studyBMC women's health2025
Intravaginal boric acid treatment for recurrent bacterial vaginosis: short-term effects on vaginal health parameters and patient satisfaction.
Observational study in BMC women's health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRecurrent bacterial vaginosis affects 15–30% of women with bacterial vaginosis, demonstrating recurrence rates exceeding 60% after conventional therapy modalities. Alternative treatments are needed when standard therapies fail.
objectiveTo evaluate short-term effects of intravaginal boric acid on vaginal health parameters and patient satisfaction in women with recurrent bacterial vaginosis resistant to conventional treatment.
methodsThis retrospective observational study analyzed 52 women with recurrent bacterial vaginosis (≥ 3 episodes within 12 months) treated with intravaginal boric acid (600 mg daily for 14 days) between January 2022 and December 2023. All participants had documented failure or rapid recurrence following metronidazole or clindamycin therapy. Primary outcomes included Vaginal Health Index and Maturation Index. Secondary outcomes comprised validated patient-reported measures (Quality of Sexual Experience Scale, Female Sexual Distress Scale) and clinical symptoms. Assessments occurred at baseline and Day 30 (16 days post-treatment).
resultsParticipants (mean age 34.7 ± 6.7 years, 4.2 ± 1.3 prior episodes) demonstrated significant improvements. Nugent scores decreased from 7.8 ± 0.8 to 3.1 ± 1.0 (p < 0.001), with 88.5% achieving scores < 4. Clue cells decreased from 68.4% to 8.3% (p < 0.001). Vaginal Health Index improved from 12.1 ± 1.9 to 20.5 ± 1.5 (p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 4.9). Quality of Sexual Experience scores increased from 13.8 ± 2.3 to 38.7 ± 3.1, while Female Sexual Distress scores decreased from 38.9 ± 5.2 to 8.4 ± 2.9 (both p < 0.001). Vaginal odor prevalence decreased from 92.3% to 1.9%. Mild adverse events occurred in 7.8% of participants, with all participants completing the 14-day treatment course.
conclusionsIntravaginal boric acid was associated with significant short-term improvements in microbiological, clinical, and patient-reported outcomes. However, the single-arm retrospective design and limited follow-up preclude definitive conclusions about treatment efficacy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.