Table 5.
Effect of the probiotic intervention with L. salivarius CECT5713 on the vaginal parameters of women who were able to complete a full-term pregnancy (n = 15) and of those who did not (n = 6) among the women that had a history of repetitive abortion (RA group; n = 21).
| Probiotic Intervention Resulted in Pregnancy | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes (n = 15) | No (n = 6) | ||
| Vaginal Parameter | Mean (95% CI) | Mean (95% CI) | p-Value 1 |
| pH | |||
| Baseline | 5.58 (5.39–5.77) | 5.88 (5.58–6.18) | 0.221 |
| Post-intervention | 4.45 (4.34–4.57) | 5.65 (0.13–5.46) | 0.000 |
| Change | −1.13 (−1.27–−0.99) | −0.23 (−0.45–−0.01) | <0.001 |
| p-value 3 | 0.000 | 0.002 | |
| Nugent score | |||
| Baseline | 5.87 (5.24–6.49) | 6.17 (5.18–7.15) | 0.708 |
| Post-intervention | 2.53 (2.13–2.94) | 5.50 (4.86–6.14) | 0.000 |
| Change | −3.33 (−3.73–−2.93) | −0.67 (−1.29–−0.04) | 0.000 |
| p-value 3 | 0.000 | 0.102 | |
| TGF-β 1, pg/mL | |||
| Baseline | 2.81 (2.62–3.00) | 2.15 (1.85–2.45) | 0.014 |
| Post-intervention | 4.21 (4.05–4.36) | 2.47 (2.22–2.71) | 0.000 |
| Change | 1.40 (1.18–1.62) | 0.32 (−0.02–0.66) | <0.001 |
| p-value 3 | 0.000 | 0.098 | |
| TGF-β 2, pg/mL | |||
| Baseline | 1.67 (1.57–1.78) | 1.15 (0.99–1.31) | <0.001 |
| Post-intervention | 2.93 (2.81–3.05) | 1.30 (1.11–1.49) | 0.000 |
| Change | 1.25 (1.12–1.38) | 0.15 (−0.05–0.35) | 0.000 |
| p-value 3 | 0.000 | 0.328 | |
| VEGF, pg/mL | |||
| Baseline | 341 (300–382) | 109 (44–173) | <0.001 |
| Post-intervention | 743 (640–846) | 138 (−25–301) | <0.001 |
| Change | 402 (319–485) | 29 (−102–160) | 0.002 |
| p-value 3 | 0.000 | 0.189 | |
| Lactobacilli presence, n (%) | |||
| Baseline | 9 (60) | 3 (50) | 0.523 2 |
| Post-intervention | 15 (100) | 4 (67) | 0.071 2 |
| Change | 6 (40) | 1 (17) | 0.613 2 |
| Lactobacilli counts, log10 CFU/mL | |||
| Initial | 4.99 (4.48–5.50) | 5.20 (4.31–6.09) | 0.752 |
| Final | 6.52 (6.22–6.81) | 4.74 (4.17–5.31) | <0.001 |
| Change | 2.44 (1.84–3.04) | 0.16 (−0.99–1.32) | 0.019 |
| p-value 3 | <0.001 | 0.697 | |
| L. salivarius qPCR, n (%) | |||
| Initial | nd | nd | |
| Final | 15 (100) | 3 (50) | 0.015 2 |
| L. salivarius qPCR, log10 copies/mL 4 | |||
| Initial | - | - | |
| Final | 6.85 (6.58–7.12) | 2.63 (0.41–3.24) | <0.000 |
1 One-way ANOVA tests were used to evaluate differences in mean values between groups, except for lactobacilli presence. 2 Fisher exact probability test for a 2 × 2 contingency table. 3 One-way repeated measures ANOVA tests were used to determine whether there was a change in each group of participants when comparing the baseline and post-intervention parameters. 4 Mean (95% CI) of L. salivarius qPCR (copies/mL) in positive samples.