Abstract
Objective
The vaginal microbiota in bacterial vaginosis (BV) typically has low abundance of lactic acid producing lactobacilli. Lactic acid has properties that may make it effective for treating BV and/or restoring an optimal lactobacillus-dominated vaginal microbiota. We conducted a systematic review to describe the effect of intravaginal lactic acid-containing products on BV cure, and their impact on vaginal microbiota composition (PROSPERO registration: CRD42018115982).
Methods
PubMed, Embase and OVID were searched from inception to November 2019 to identify eligible studies. Included studies evaluated an intravaginal lactic acid-containing product and reported BV cure using established diagnostic methods, and/or vaginal microbiota composition using molecular methods. Studies were independently screened and assessed, and the proportion of women cured post-treatment was calculated. Study results were described in a qualitative manner.
Results
We identified 1,883 articles and assessed 57 full-texts for eligibility. Seven different lactic acid-containing products were evaluated and differed with respect to excipients, lactic acid concentration and pH. Most studies had medium or high risk of bias. Three trials compared the efficacy of a lactic acid-containing product to metronidazole for BV cure. One study found lactic acid to be equivalent to metronidazole and two studies found lactic acid to be significantly inferior to metronidazole. Two studies included a control group receiving a placebo or no treatment. One reported lactic acid to be superior than no treatment and the other reported lactic acid to be equivalent to placebo. Lactic acid-containing products did not significantly impact the vaginal microbiota composition.
Conclusion
There is a lack of high-quality evidence to support the use of lactic acid-containing products for BV cure or vaginal microbiota modulation. However, adequately powered and rigorous randomised trials with accompanying vaginal microbiota data are needed to evaluate the efficacy of lactic acid as a BV treatment strategy.
Introduction
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the commonest vaginal condition in reproductive aged women. BV is associated with serious sequelae including miscarriage, preterm birth and pelvic inflammatory disease, and acquisition of sexually transmitted infections including HIV [1–5]. Recommended first-line treatments for BV are oral or intravaginal metronidazole and intravaginal clindamycin [6]. First-line treatments have equivalent four-week cure rates of ~70–85% [7], but BV recurrence is common [8, 9]. Recurrences negatively impact a woman’s quality of life [10] and result in repeated clinical presentations and antibiotic use. Given the significant sequelae, treatments that improve BV cure are needed.
The optimal vaginal microbiota of reproductive aged women is typically characterised by dominance of lactic acid producing Lactobacillus species including Lactobacillus crispatus, Lactobacillus gasseri and Lactobacillus jensenii [11–16]. Women with BV have reduced abundance of these lactobacilli and increased prevalence and abundance of anaerobic and facultative-anaerobic bacteria [13, 14]. In vitro studies have shown that lactic acid inactivates BV-associated bacteria [17] and pathogens including Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and HIV via mechanisms independent of acidity alone [18–21]. Lactic acid has also been shown to modulate cervicovaginal epithelial cell functions to prevent C. trachomatis infection [22]. Lactic acid also has immunomodulatory effects [23], and can elicit an anti-inflammatory response and reduce production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines from cervicovaginal epithelial cells in vitro [24].
The antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties of lactic acid may make it effective for the treatment of BV and/or to restore an optimal microbiota following antibiotic treatment [23]. Lactic acid-containing products have been evaluated for BV treatment in clinical trials, and several over-the-counter lactic acid-containing products are marketed to treat BV or support optimal vaginal microbiota. However, the use of these products is not recommended by any treatment guidelines [6].
We conducted a systematic review with two objectives: 1) to describe the effect of intravaginal lactic acid-containing products for BV cure (assessed using an established diagnostic method), and 2) to describe the impact of intravaginal lactic acid-containing products on the vaginal microbiota (assessed using molecular methods).
Materials and methods
We conducted and reported this systematic review according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis statement [25] (S1 File), and registered the protocol prospectively with PROSPERO (CRD42018115982).
Search strategy, eligibility criteria
We searched electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, OVID Medline) from inception until 4th November 2019 using keywords: “bacterial vaginosis”, “vaginal microbiota” and “lactic acid” (search strings in S1 Table). Reference lists and conference abstracts were searched for additional studies. Conference abstracts were included if they reported adequate information. Studies were uploaded to Covidence (Veritas Health Innovation, Melbourne, Australia, www.covidence.org) and were independently reviewed for eligibility by three authors (EP, JS, MD). Disagreements were resolved with a fourth author (LV).
Studies were eligible for objective 1 (BV cure outcome) if they assessed an intravaginal lactic acid-containing product as the main or adjuvant therapy for BV cure in women diagnosed with BV. BV had to be diagnosed using an established method (e.g. Amsel criteria or modified Amsel criteria [26], Nugent Score [NS] [27] or Ison-Hay method [28]). Studies were eligible if they were randomised controlled trials (RCT) where an intravaginal lactic acid-containing product was assessed in comparison to either no treatment, a placebo or a recommended antibiotic treatment for BV. No restrictions were placed on number of participants enrolled. Studies of pregnant women and post-menopausal women were excluded.
Studies were eligible for objective 2 (vaginal microbiota outcome) if they reported use of an intravaginal lactic acid-containing product in women with or without BV, and assessed the vaginal microbiota using a molecular method such as quantitative PCR (qPCR) or high throughput sequencing. In order to capture all published literature evaluating the impact of lactic acid-containing product on the vaginal microbiota composition, no restrictions were placed on study design, number of participants enrolled, age, menopause or pregnancy status.
For both objectives, we excluded studies if they were performed on animals or the data was not stratified by lactic acid-containing product use. Only English language studies were included.
Interventions assessed
Assessed interventions included any intravaginal lactic acid-containing product. Interventions were excluded if they contained lactic acid producing bacteria or were not used intravaginally.
Outcome measures
Outcome measures were: 1) BV cure defined as ≤2 Amsel criteria and/or NS<4, or Ison-Hay grade 1 measured ≥7 days after the start of treatment, 2) vaginal microbiota composition assessed by molecular methods, and 3) occurrence of adverse events.
Data extraction
Three authors (EP, JS, MD) independently extracted the following information for each study: author details, publication year, study design, population studied, intervention details, comparator details, follow-up duration, BV diagnostic method, BV cure definition, microbiota characterisation methodology, adverse events and study findings. Disagreements in extracted data were resolved by discussion between authors. Two corresponding authors were contacted for additional details, one responded [29].
Data analysis
For objective 1 (BV cure outcome), we calculated the proportion of women cured post-treatment per treatment group with 95% confidence intervals, and described results in a narrative manner. For objective 2 (vaginal microbiota outcome), the impact of lactic acid-containing products on the vaginal microbiota was described narratively. Where an article reported ≥2 lactic acid-containing products or treatment regimens, each product/regimen was presented separately in tables.
Assessment of bias
Two authors (EP, MD) independently assessed the risk of bias of each study using a modified version of the RoB 2.0 [30] and ROBINS-I tools [31] (S2 Table). The level of overall risk was summarised across six domains: selection bias, performance bias, measurement bias, response bias, reporting bias and other sources of bias (i.e. adjustment for confounders and insufficient description of product details). Studies were not excluded based on bias assessment.
Results
Study selection
Our initial search identified 1882 articles. One additional article was identified from reference lists. Following duplicate removal, 1591 articles were screened on title and abstract. We excluded 1534 articles and assessed 57 full-text articles. Fifty articles were excluded; seven of which evaluated a lactic acid-containing product for BV treatment but were excluded because they were non-randomised (n = 5), did not use standard criteria to assess BV cure (n = 1) or assessed BV-recurrence only (n = 1; S3 Table). Seven articles were included in the review (Fig 1).
Lactic acid-containing products evaluated
Seven different lactic acid-containing products were evaluated and differed with respect to lactic acid concentration, pH and included ingredients/excipients (Table 1). Two intravaginal gels were evaluated in three studies: Acidform was evaluated in two studies [32, 33] and Lactal was evaluated in one study [34]. Four different vaginal pessaries were evaluated in three studies [29, 35, 36] and a vaginal douche (Etos®) was evaluated in one study [37]. Excipients were not reported in one study [36]. Lactic acid isomer details were only located for Acidform, which comprises L-lactic acid [38].
Table 1. Lactic acid-containing product details.
Product name, formulation, reference | Lactic acid details | pH | Other ingredients and excipients including preservatives |
---|---|---|---|
Acidforma intravaginal gel [32, 33] | 88mg (1.76%) per dose | 3.55 | 50 mg (1%) citric acid, 20 mg (0.4%) potassium bitartrate, benzoic acid, alginic acid, xanthan gum, glycerin, sodium hydroxide and water in a 5mg dose [38] |
L-lactic acid isomer | |||
Lactal intravaginal gel [34] b | NR | 3.5 | Growth substrates for lactobacilli |
Lactic acid pessary [35] | 100mg lactic acid per pessary | 3.3 | 2.4g of polyethylene glycol 1540 |
Vagisan®, vaginal pessary [29] | 40mg lactic acid per pessary | ~4.5 | Macrogol 1500, macrogol 6000 and sodium lactate |
WO3191, vaginal pessary [29] | Total lactic acid conc. of ~3.9% total weight | ~4.5 | Cocoamphopropionate (amphoteric tenside), sodium lactate |
Sustained release oligomeric lactic acid (OMLA) pessary [36] | 700mg lactic acid per pessaryc | pH 3.5 | NR |
Etos® vaginal douche [37] | Neat lactic acid conc. 0.45%, diluted conc. | Neat pH 3.42, diluted pH 3.50 (1 in 7 dilution) | Aqua, butylene glycol, caprylyl glycol, sodium pyroglutamic acid, Zea mays kernel extract, hydrolyzed milk protein, niacinamide, and adenosine triphosphate |
0.06% (1 in 7 dilution) |
Intravaginal lactic acid-containing products for BV cure
Four RCTs assessed the efficacy of an intravaginal lactic acid-containing product for BV cure (Table 2) [32, 34–36].
Table 2. Key findings of included studies.
Objective 1: Studies assessing BV cure | |||||||
Reference | Study design | Intervention | Comparator | No. women randomised | Outcome measure | Duration of follow-up | BV cure results in intervention vs comparator |
Andersch, 1986 [34] | RCTa | Lactal gel 5ml PV/night x 7 nights | Oral MTZ 500 mg bid x 7 days | Lactal = 32 | ≤2 of 3 Amsel criteriab | 1 week after start of treatment | 31/31 (100%, 95%CI 89–100) vs |
MTZ = 22 | 17/17 (100%, 95%CI 90–100) | ||||||
Boeke, 1993 [35] | RCTa | Oral placebo bid x 7 days and lactic acid vaginal suppository/night x 7 days | Two comparator groups: | Lactic acid = 41c | ≤2 of 4 Amsel criteria | 2 weeks after start of treatment | 18/37 (49%, 95%CI 32–66) vs |
MTZ = 44 | 35/42 (83%, 95%CI 69–93) | ||||||
1) Oral MTZ 500 mg bid x 7 days and placebo vaginal suppository/night x 7 days | Placebo = 40 | 16/34 (47%, 95%CI 30–65) | |||||
4 weeks after start of treatment | 11/33 (33%, 95%CI 18–52) vs | ||||||
27/38 (71%, 95%CI 54–85) | |||||||
2) Oral placebo bid x 7 days and placebo vaginal suppository/night x 7 days | 12/35 (34%, 95%CI 19–52) | ||||||
3 months after start of treatment | 12/32 (38%, 95%CI 21–56) vs | ||||||
29/37 (78%, 95%CI 62–90) | |||||||
11/32 (34%, 95%CI 19–53) | |||||||
Simoes, 2006 [32] | Double-blind RCT | Acidform gel 5g PV/day x 5 days | 10% MTZ gel PV/day x 5 days | Acidform = 13 | ≤2 of 4 Amsel criteria | 12–17 days after start of treatment | 3/13 (23%, 95%CI 5–54) vs |
MTZ = 17 | 15/17 (88%, 95%CI 64–99) | ||||||
33–40 days after start of treatment | 1/13 (8%, 95%CI 0–36) vs | ||||||
9/17 (53%, 95%CI 28–77) | |||||||
Fredstorp, 2015 [36] | Open-label RCT | Two intervention groups: | Untreated control group | Once/week = 37 | ≤2 of 4 Amsel criteria | 1 week after start of treatment | 24/34 (71%, 95%CI 53–85) |
Twice/week = 35 | 28/35 (80%, 95%CI 63–92) vs | ||||||
1) OMLA pessary applied once/week for 1 week | Control = 33 | 3/30 (10%, 95%CI 2–27) | |||||
2) OMLA pessary applied twice/week for 1 weekd | |||||||
Objective 2: Studies assessing vaginal microbiota composition | |||||||
Reference | Study design | Intervention | Comparator | No. women randomised | Outcome measure | Reported results | |
Keller, 2012 [33] | Single-blind RCT | Acidform gel 5g PV bid x 14 days | HEC placebo gel PV bid x 14 days | Acidform = 18 | qPCR assays: | In 35e women without BV, no significant changes were observed in the prevalence or concentration of L. crispatus, L. jensenii, Megasphaera (type 1 & type 2) or BVAB2 following 14 days of gel use in either the Acidform or placebo group (compared to baseline values). | |
Placebo = 18 | L. crispatus | ||||||
L. jensenii | |||||||
G. vaginalis | |||||||
Megasphaera (type 1 & type 2) | |||||||
There was a non-significant trend towards a decrease in G. vaginalis concentration in the Acidform group following 14 days of gel use compared to baseline (median of 1.36x106 to 3.66x104 DNA copies/swab, p = 0.083), but not in the placebo group (median of 9.8x105 to 4.4x106 DNA copies/swab, p-value not reported). | |||||||
BVAB2 | |||||||
Gottschick, 2017 [29] f | Double-blind RCT | Oral MTZ 2g single dose. After 7–28 days, WO3191 pessary applied twice-weekly x 3 weeks | Oral MTZ 2g single dose. After 7–28 days, Vagisan® pessary applied twice-weekly x 3 weeks | WO3191 = 18 | 16S rRNA gene sequencing of V1-V2 regions | In 36g women initially treated for BV with oral metronidazole, no significant changes in vaginal microbiota composition were reported during or following use of either WO3191 or Vagisan®. | |
Vagisan® = 26 | |||||||
The cumulative relative abundance of Lactobacillus spp. (L. crispatus, L. iners and L. gasseri) was 73% in the WO3191 group prior to starting pessary use, 77% after 3 weeks of pessary use, and had decreased to 59% 12–14 weeks after last pessary use. | |||||||
The cumulative relative abundance of Lactobacillus spp. was 75% in the Vagisan® group prior to starting pessary use, 69% after 3 weeks of pessary use, and 73% 12–14 weeks after last pessary use. There was a non-significant increase in the relative abundance of L. crispatus in Vagisan® group from 18% prior to starting pessary use to 33% 12–14 weeks after last pessary use. | |||||||
There was no difference in microbiota diversity (as measured by Shannon diversity index) between women randomised to WO3191 and women randomised to Vagisan®. | |||||||
van der Veer, 2019 [37] | Single arm prospective cohort | Participants were followed for 3 menstrual cycles. Etos® douche was applied 3/per week for duration of cycle 2 starting on day 1 of menses. | NA | 29 | 16S rRNA gene sequencing of V3-V4 regions | In 25h women without BV there was a non-statistically significant increased odds of having a diverse anaerobic vaginal microbiota relative to an L. crispatus microbiota during (odds ratio: 1.4; 95% CI 0.9–2.1) and after douching with Etos® (odds ratio: 1.7; 95%CI 0.9–3.1), compared to before douching, following adjustment for menses. | |
Douching with Etos® had no effect on microbiota diversity as measured by Shannon diversity index. |
No., number; BV, bacterial vaginosis; RCT, randomised controlled trial; PV, intravaginal; MTZ, metronidazole; bid, twice a day; OMLA, oligometric lactic acid; CI, confidence interval; qPCR, quantitative PCR; NA, not applicable.
a Details of blinding not provided.
b The three criteria evaluated were: positive amine test, clue cells, pH≥5.0.
c 168 women randomised, but post-randomisation, 43 women were found to be ineligible and excluded, thus randomisation numbers presented reflect the 125 eligible women included in analyses.
d OMLA pessary is designed to release lactic acid over a 72hr period.
e One woman allocated to Acidform did not receive the intervention.
f Both the intervention (WO3191) and the comparator (Vagisan®) contain lactic acid.
g 36 women were included in microbiota analyses, n = 13 receiving WO3191 and n = 23 receiving Vagisan®.
h Twenty-nine women were recruited, four were excluded and 25 women completed the study.
Andersch et al. [34] randomised women to receive once nightly Lactal gel (lactic acid concentration not specified) for seven days or twice daily (bid) oral metronidazole for seven days. No details of allocation concealment, implementation of randomisation or blinding of participants and/or Amsel outcome assessors were provided (Fig 2). One week after the start of treatment (i.e. immediately post-treatment), all women in both groups had ≤2 of 3 Amsel criteria (Table 2); 77% (n = 24/31) of women receiving Lactal and 76% (n = 13/17) of women receiving metronidazole were negative for all criteria assessed (positive amine test, clue cells, pH≥5.0). No adverse events were reported (S4 Table).
In a multicentre RCT, Boeke et al. [35] randomised women to receive either nightly lactic acid pessary (100mg lactic acid/pessary) plus oral placebo bid for seven days, oral metronidazole bid plus nightly placebo pessary for seven days, or oral placebo bid plus nightly placebo pessary for seven days. No details of allocation concealment or blinding were provided (Fig 2). Cure was assessed at three time points (2-weeks, 4-weeks and 3-months after the start of treatment) using ≤2 of 4 Amsel criteria and an additional author definition called ‘strict’ cure (absence of: positive amine test, clue cells, pH>4.5). Two weeks after the start of treatment, 49% (n = 18/37) of women receiving lactic acid, 83% (n = 35/42) of women receiving metronidazole and 47% (n = 16/34) of women receiving dual placebo had ≤2 Amsel criteria (Table 2). When assessed according to the authors definition of strict cure, none of the women receiving lactic acid pessary, 10% of women receiving metronidazole and 3% of women receiving dual placebo were cured. Similar findings were reported 4 weeks and 3-months after start of treatment (Table 2). There was no difference in adverse events reported between the three randomisation groups. Of 33 women receiving lactic acid, four reported gastrointestinal symptoms, three reported genital irritation and one reported headache/vertigo (S4 Table).
In a double-blind pilot RCT, Simoes et al. [32] randomised women to receive either once daily Acidform gel (an acid buffering contraceptive gel, 88mg lactic acid/5g) for five days (n = 13) or once daily 10% metronidazole intravaginal gel for five days (n = 17). Randomisation was performed by the product manufacturer and researchers were provided with product tubes labelled with participant numbers so that the randomisation group was double-blinded to the researchers and participants (Fig 2). At 7–12 days post-treatment, 23% (n = 3/13) of women receiving Acidform and 88% (n = 15/17) women receiving metronidazole were cured (≤2 Amsel criteria). At 28–35 days post-treatment, the percent of women cured decreased to 8% (n = 1/13) in the Acidform group and 53% (n = 9/17) in the metronidazole group (Table 2). Four women receiving Acidform and one woman receiving metronidazole reported genital irritation (S4 Table).
Fredstorp et al. [36] evaluated a sustained release oligomeric lactic acid (OMLA) pessary in a two part multicentre study. Part A of the study is not included in this review as there was no control group. In Part B, women were randomised to receive either OMLA pessary applied once per week for one week, OMLA pessary applied twice per week for a week or no treatment. Block randomisation was performed according to a computer-generated randomisation list, with block size blinded to the investigators. Sites were provided with coded envelopes, and the study was open-label (Fig 2). After one week of pessary use, 71% (n = 24/34) of women receiving once-weekly pessary, 80% (n = 28/35) of women receiving twice-weekly pessary and 10% (n = 3/30) of women receiving no treatment had ≤2 of 3 Amsel criteria (Table 2). Vaginal itching was the most common adverse event and was reported by 11 women receiving OMLA pessary, by five applying the pessary once/week and by six applying the pessary twice/week. Two women receiving OMLA pessary had a yeast infection, and vaginal irritation and genital burning sensation were both reported by >1 woman (exact numbers and group not provided; S4 Table). Adverse events were not recorded from control participants.
Impact of intravaginal lactic acid-containing products on the vaginal microbiota composition
Three studies reported a measure of vaginal microbiota composition (Table 2) [29, 33, 37].
Keller et al. [33] evaluated the safety of Acidform gel bid (88mg lactic acid/5g) compared to HEC placebo gel bid in 35 sexually abstinent non-pregnant women without BV. Women were randomised 1:1 by a pharmacist. Though the treatments were not identical in appearance, participants were not informed of their allocation and laboratory personnel assessing the outcome were blinded (Fig 2). The change in prevalence and concentration of five bacteria after 14 days of gel use was assessed by qPCR. There were no significant changes in vaginal microbiota composition following 14 days of either Acidform or placebo (Table 2). A non-significant trend towards decreased Gardnerella vaginalis concentration following Acidform use was reported. Five women receiving Acidform reported vulvar itching, four reported vaginal or vulvar burning and three reported abdominal cramping (S4 Table). Two women receiving placebo reported vaginal or vulvar itching.
Gottschick et al. [29] evaluated the safety, tolerability and efficacy of a biofilm disrupting agent (cocoamphopropionate) administered as a pessary (WO3191, which contains lactic acid at 3.9% of total pessary weight) in a double-blind RCT. Forty-four non-pregnant women were randomised to receive either WO3191 or Vagisan® (40mg lactic acid/pessary) 7–28 days after treatment for BV with 2g single dose oral metronidazole (Table 2). No details of randomisation or allocation concealment were provided (Fig 2). Microbiota results (assessed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing) were reported for 36 women (WO3191 n = 13 and Vagisan® n = 23). No significant changes in vaginal microbiota composition were observed during or following use of either pessary. No safety concerns were identified for either pessary (S4 Table).
In an open-label non-comparative pilot study, van de Veer et al. [37] evaluated the impact of a lactic acid-containing douche (Etos®, 0.06% lactic acid when diluted for use) on the vaginal microbiota composition of 25 non-pregnant reproductive aged women without BV (Table 2). Etos® did not significantly impact the vaginal microbiota composition (assessed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing). The study reported non-significant increased odds for having a diverse anaerobic vaginal microbiota during and after douching with Etos®, following adjustment for menses. Five women reported dryness and 2 reported an increase in vaginal symptoms post douching (S4 Table).
Adverse events
No major safety concerns were reported (S4 Table). Vaginal or vulvar irritation, itching, burning, redness and/or dryness were recorded in women receiving a lactic acid-containing product in five of the seven studies. Minimal differences in adverse events between lactic acid-containing product and control randomisation groups were reported.
Risk of bias of included studies
Risk of bias assessment is in Fig 2. Only one RCT evaluating a lactic acid-containing product for BV cure was double-blinded [32] and only one study had low bias across all six domains [33].
Two studies assessing BV cure reported sample size calculations [35, 36] and one reached the required sample size [36]. Four studies measured treatment adherence; one study reported these results [33]. An additional study reported comparable treatment adherence across intervention groups, but did not provide raw data [35].
Discussion
The efficacy of lactic acid-containing products for BV cure and their impact on the vaginal microbiota composition has not been extensively evaluated. We identified four RCTs that investigated the use of intravaginal lactic acid-containing products for BV cure and three studies that investigated the impact of lactic acid-containing products on the vaginal microbiota. Most studies were small and underpowered, had medium-high risk of bias, and the time-point at which cure was measured differed between studies. Three studies compared a lactic acid-containing product to a first-line BV treatment: one reported lactic acid to have equivalent efficacy to metronidazole and two reported lactic acid to be inferior to metronidazole. Two studies included a placebo or no treatment control group: one reported lactic acid to be superior to no treatment and the other reported lactic acid to be equivalent to placebo. Minimal effects of lactic acid-containing products on the vaginal microbiota were reported. New treatments are needed to improve BV cure and the use of lactic acid is supported by in vitro evidence [17, 23]. However, there is limited high-quality in vivo evidence that supports the use of lactic acid for BV cure or modulating the vaginal microbiota. Large rigorous trials of well evaluated lactic acid-containing products with long-term follow-up and accompanying microbiota data are needed.
The lactic acid-containing products assessed varied with respect to lactic acid concentration, pH, formulation (i.e. gel, pessary, douche) and excipients. Women with lactobacillus-dominated vaginal microbiota (defined as NS = 0–3) have an average vaginal lactic acid concentration of approximately 0.79–1% and pH of 3.45–4.12 [40, 41]. Some products had a lactic acid concentration or pH outside of these ranges, and no study reported the concentration of lactic acid released into the vagina. Thus, it is not clear if biologically active levels of lactic acid were achieved, which may have impacted on treatment efficacy. Functional effects of lactic acid in vitro are usually observed within concentration ranges of 0.30–1% and pH of 3.45–4.12 [18, 40, 41], and are mediated by the uncharged protonated form of lactic acid which predominates at pH≤3.86 [17, 18, 24]. Accordingly, biological effects diminish as lactic acid levels decrease and pH increases. For example, at <0.3% lactic acid and pH≥4.2, the HIV virucidal activity [18] and immunomodulatory effects [24] of lactic acid decrease. Additionally, while 1% lactic acid at pH 4.5 reduces the viability of BV-associated bacteria approximately 106-fold, a negligible reduction is observed with 0.1% lactic acid [17]. The lactic acid concentration and vaginal pH maintained after dosing are likely to be critical for achieving biological effects in vivo.
Other important characteristics of lactic acid-containing products need consideration, including lactic acid isomer and product osmolality. Lactic acid exists in two isomers: D- and L-lactic acid, and Lactobacillus spp. differ in their ability to produce each isomer. For example, in vitro, L. crispatus and L. gasseri produce both isomers, L. jensenii produces only D-lactic acid and L. iners produces only L-lactic acid [42]. The protective effects of L. crispatus compared to L. iners are partly attributed to the ability of L. crispatus to produce D-lactic acid [23]. It is hypothesised that D-lactic acid affords more protection than L-lactic acid against upper genital tract infections [42]; however, this has not been studied in the context of BV. Isomer information was available for one product included in this review. In order to understand the relative contribution of each isomer to the inactivation of BV-associated bacteria, future studies of products under evaluation for BV treatment or vaginal microbiota modulation should report the L‐/D‐isomer ratio. Additionally, no study reported product osmolality. This is relevant because hyperosmolal products are likely to damage vaginal epithelium [43, 44]. Vaginal and vulvar irritation were commonly reported adverse events in women using lactic acid-containing products, and may be related to product osmolality and/or excipients or other ingredients (e.g. citric acid). Adverse events should be monitored following intravaginal lactic acid use.
Minimal changes in vaginal microbiota composition following lactic acid-containing product use were reported. Two of the three studies evaluating microbiota composition recruited women without BV and the third study assessed women recently treated with oral metronidazole. Thus, one might expect the impact of lactic acid on the vaginal microbiota composition of these women to be minimal. The non-significant association of Etos® douche with non-optimal vaginal microbiota composition [45] may be a result of the douching action rather than an adverse impact of lactic acid, highlighting the importance of product formulation. Douching has been associated with increased risk of BV-associated bacteria detection [46], as well as increased risk of intermediate-BV and Nugent-BV by meta-analysis [4]. However, whether douching introduces BV-associated bacteria, depletes optimal lactobacilli, or modifies the vaginal environment such that BV-associated bacteria growth is favoured is unknown.
This review has limitations. The 2019 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines for developing BV treatments recommends that clinical cure be defined as the absence of 3 Amsel criteria, specifically resolution of vaginal discharge, a negative whiff test and clue cells <20% per high-power field on wet mount [47]. In clinical practice, BV is typically diagnosed as the presence of ≥3 Amsel criteria [6], recurrence is defined as the presence of ≥3 criteria [48] and cure is reported as ≤2 criteria. Based on international clinical practice and published studies, we defined BV cure as the presence of ≤2 Amsel criteria (and/or NS<4, although no included study reported cure using NS) and not by the 2019 FDA guidelines. Additionally, only two studies assessed cure at a timepoint recommended by FDA guidelines [32, 35]. The FDA guidelines recommend cure be assessed 7–14 days post-randomisation for topical drugs administered for a short period of time (i.e. 1–2 days) or 21–30 days post-randomisation for topical drugs that that are administered for a longer period of time (i.e. 1 week) [47]. Follow-up was limited to immediately post-treatment in two studies [34, 36], which is not only likely to be too soon after treatment cessation to adequately assess cure, it also prevented our assessment of the long-term efficacy and safety of lactic acid-containing products. If lactic acid is effective it is likely to be most effective when used as adjunctive therapy with antibiotics [23] and/or when used as sustained release or as periodic presumptive therapy, as has been shown with biweekly suppressive use of 0.75% metronidazole gel [49]. Finally, our search was restricted to English-language records which excluded at least one study [50].
Other lactic acid-containing products are available over-the-counter but were either not identified through our systematic search of published literature or were ineligible for inclusion in our review. An RCT of 1,900 women comparing the clinical and cost effectiveness of intravaginal lactic acid gel to oral metronidazole for BV is currently ongoing [51] (ISRCTN14161293). The primary outcome is patient reported resolution of BV symptoms 14-days post-randomisation. Initial qualitative data from ISRCTN14161293 indicates women prefer lactic acid gel to antibiotics for mild BV episodes despite lower perceived efficacy [52], supporting the need to further investigate lactic acid-containing products for BV.
Conclusions
New treatments are needed to improve BV cure, reduce associated sequelae and improve antibiotic stewardship. In vitro data suggest that lactic acid may be effective for BV treatment; however, high-quality evidence supporting the use of lactic acid-containing products for BV and modification of the vaginal microbiota is lacking. Large, rigorous randomised trials of lactic acid-containing products that have been carefully evaluated with respect to pH, lactic acid concentration, L‐/D‐isomer ratio and osmolality are needed. Future studies should include standardised clinical endpoints, standardised timing of endpoint measurement, assessment of adverse events, long-term follow-up of participants and accompanying high-resolution vaginal microbiota data.
Supporting information
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Dr Anna Hearps for their reading of the manuscript.
Data Availability
All relevant data are within the manuscript and its Supporting Information files.
Funding Statement
ELP was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship. CSB and CKF are supported by an Australian NHMRC Leadership Investigator Grant (GNT1173361 and GNT1172900, respectively). GT was supported by NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship (GNT1117748) and NHMRC Project Grant (GNT1164982). LAV was supported by NHMRC Project Grant (APP1138165). GT, CSB, CKF, DB are supported by Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Frontier in Health and Medical Research Program Stage One (MRFF75913). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
References
- 1.Brotman RM, Klebanoff MA, Nansel TR, Yu KF, Andrews WW, Zhang J, et al. Bacterial vaginosis assessed by Gram stain and diminished colonization resistance to incident gonococcal, chlamydial, and trichomonal genital infection. J Infect Dis. 2010;202(12):1907–15. 10.1086/657320 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Koumans EH, Markowitz LE, Berman SM, St Louis ME. A public health approach to adverse outcomes of pregnancy associated with bacterial vaginosis. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 1999;67 Suppl 1:S29–33. 10.1016/s0020-7292(99)00136-8 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3.Myer L, Kuhn L, Stein ZA, Wright TC Jr., Denny L. Intravaginal practices, bacterial vaginosis, and women’s susceptibility to HIV infection: epidemiological evidence and biological mechanisms. Lancet Infect Dis. 2005;5(12):786–94. 10.1016/S1473-3099(05)70298-X [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4.Low N, Chersich MF, Schmidlin K, Egger M, Francis SC, van de Wijgert JH, et al. Intravaginal practices, bacterial vaginosis, and HIV infection in women: individual participant data meta-analysis. PLoS Med. 2011;8(2):e1000416 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000416 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 5.Cohen CR, Lingappa JR, Baeten JM, Ngayo MO, Spiegel CA, Hong T, et al. Bacterial vaginosis associated with increased risk of female-to-male HIV-1 transmission: a prospective cohort analysis among African couples. PLoS Med. 2012;9(6):e1001251 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001251 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 6.Workowski KA, Bolan GA, Centers for Disease C, Prevention. Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines, 2015. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2015;64(RR-03):1–137. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 7.Oduyebo OO, Anorlu RI, Ogunsola FT. The effects of antimicrobial therapy on bacterial vaginosis in non-pregnant women. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009(3):CD006055 10.1002/14651858.CD006055.pub2 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 8.Bradshaw CS, Morton AN, Hocking J, Garland SM, Morris MB, Moss LM, et al. High recurrence rates of bacterial vaginosis over the course of 12 months after oral metronidazole therapy and factors associated with recurrence. J Infect Dis. 2006;193(11):1478–86. 10.1086/503780 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 9.Sobel JD, Schmitt C, Meriwether C. Long-term follow-up of patients with bacterial vaginosis treated with oral metronidazole and topical clindamycin. J Infect Dis. 1993;167(3):783–4. 10.1093/infdis/167.3.783 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 10.Bilardi JE, Walker S, Temple-Smith M, McNair R, Mooney-Somers J, Bellhouse C, et al. The burden of bacterial vaginosis: women’s experience of the physical, emotional, sexual and social impact of living with recurrent bacterial vaginosis. PLoS One. 2013;8(9):e74378 10.1371/journal.pone.0074378 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 11.Boskey ER, Telsch KM, Whaley KJ, Moench TR, Cone RA. Acid production by vaginal flora in vitro is consistent with the rate and extent of vaginal acidification. Infect Immun. 1999;67(10):5170–5. 10.1128/IAI.67.10.5170-5175.1999 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 12.Boskey ER, Cone RA, Whaley KJ, Moench TR. Origins of vaginal acidity: high D/L lactate ratio is consistent with bacteria being the primary source. Human reproduction (Oxford, England). 2001;16(9):1809–13. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 13.Fredricks DN, Fiedler TL, Marrazzo JM. Molecular identification of bacteria associated with bacterial vaginosis. N Engl J Med. 2005;353(18):1899–911. 10.1056/NEJMoa043802 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 14.Ravel J, Gajer P, Abdo Z, Schneider GM, Koenig SS, McCulle SL, et al. Vaginal microbiome of reproductive-age women. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011;108 Suppl 1:4680–7. 10.1073/pnas.1002611107 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 15.Tachedjian G, O’Hanlon DE, Ravel J. The implausible "in vivo" role of hydrogen peroxide as an antimicrobial factor produced by vaginal microbiota. Microbiome. 2018;6(1):29 10.1186/s40168-018-0418-3 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 16.McKinnon LR, Achilles SL, Bradshaw CS, Burgener A, Crucitti T, Fredricks DN, et al. The evolving facets of bacterial vaginosis: implications for HIV transmission. AIDS research and human retroviruses. 2019;35(3):219–28. 10.1089/AID.2018.0304 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 17.O’Hanlon DE, Moench TR, Cone RA. In vaginal fluid, bacteria associated with bacterial vaginosis can be suppressed with lactic acid but not hydrogen peroxide. BMC Infect Dis. 2011;11:200 10.1186/1471-2334-11-200 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 18.Aldunate M, Tyssen D, Johnson A, Zakir T, Sonza S, Moench T, et al. Vaginal concentrations of lactic acid potently inactivate HIV. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2013;68(9):2015–25. 10.1093/jac/dkt156 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 19.Gong Z, Luna Y, Yu P, Fan H. Lactobacilli inactivate Chlamydia trachomatis through lactic acid but not H2O2. PLoS One. 2014;9(9):e107758 10.1371/journal.pone.0107758 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 20.Graver MA, Wade JJ. The role of acidification in the inhibition of Neisseria gonorrhoeae by vaginal lactobacilli during anaerobic growth. Ann Clin Microbiol Antimicrob. 2011;10:8 10.1186/1476-0711-10-8 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 21.Tyssen D, Wang YY, Hayward JA, Agius PA, DeLong K, Aldunate M, et al. Anti-HIV-1 activity of lactic acid in human cervicovaginal fluid. mSphere. 2018;3(4). 10.1128/mSphere.00055-18 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 22.Edwards VL, Smith SB, McComb EJ, Tamarelle J, Ma B, Humphrys MS, et al. The cervicovaginal microbiota-host interaction modulates Chlamydia trachomatis infection. mBio. 2019;10(4). 10.1128/mBio.01548-19 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 23.Tachedjian G, Aldunate M, Bradshaw CS, Cone RA. The role of lactic acid production by probiotic Lactobacillus species in vaginal health. Res Microbiol. 2017;168(9–10):782–92. 10.1016/j.resmic.2017.04.001 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 24.Hearps AC, Tyssen D, Srbinovski D, Bayigga L, Diaz DJD, Aldunate M, et al. Vaginal lactic acid elicits an anti-inflammatory response from human cervicovaginal epithelial cells and inhibits production of pro-inflammatory mediators associated with HIV acquisition. Mucosal Immunol. 2017;10(6):1480–90. 10.1038/mi.2017.27 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 25.Moher D, Shamseer L, Clarke M, Ghersi D, Liberati A, Petticrew M, et al. Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 statement. Syst Rev. 2015;4:1 10.1186/2046-4053-4-1 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 26.Amsel R, Totten PA, Spiegel CA, Chen KC, Eschenbach D, Holmes KK. Nonspecific vaginitis. Diagnostic criteria and microbial and epidemiologic associations. Am J Med. 1983;74(1):14–22. 10.1016/0002-9343(83)91112-9 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 27.Nugent RP, Krohn MA, Hillier SL. Reliability of diagnosing bacterial vaginosis is improved by a standardized method of Gram stain interpretation. J Clin Microbiol. 1991;29(2):297–301. 10.1128/JCM.29.2.297-301.1991 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 28.Ison CA, Hay PE. Validation of a simplified grading of Gram stained vaginal smears for use in genitourinary medicine clinics. Sex Transm Infect. 2002;78(6):413–5. 10.1136/sti.78.6.413 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 29.Gottschick C, Deng ZL, Vital M, Masur C, Abels C, Pieper DH, et al. Treatment of biofilms in bacterial vaginosis by an amphoteric tenside pessary-clinical study and microbiota analysis. Microbiome. 2017;5(1):119 10.1186/s40168-017-0326-y [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 30.Higgins JPT, Sterne JAC, Savović J, Page MJ, Hróbjartsson A, Boutron I, et al. A revised tool for assessing risk of bias in randomized trials. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2016;10(Suppl 1):29–31. [Google Scholar]
- 31.Sterne JA, Hernan MA, Reeves BC, Savovic J, Berkman ND, Viswanathan M, et al. ROBINS-I: a tool for assessing risk of bias in non-randomised studies of interventions. BMJ. 2016;355:i4919 10.1136/bmj.i4919 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 32.Simoes JA, Bahamondes LG, Camargo RP, Alves VM, Zaneveld LJ, Waller DP, et al. A pilot clinical trial comparing an acid-buffering formulation (ACIDFORM gel) with metronidazole gel for the treatment of symptomatic bacterial vaginosis. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2006;61(2):211–7. 10.1111/j.1365-2125.2005.02550.x [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 33.Keller MJ, Carpenter CA, Lo Y, Einstein MH, Liu C, Fredricks DN, et al. Phase I randomized safety study of twice daily dosing of acidform vaginal gel: candidate antimicrobial contraceptive. PLoS One. 2012;7(10):e46901 10.1371/journal.pone.0046901 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 34.Andersch B, Forssman L, Lincoln K, Torstensson P. Treatment of bacterial vaginosis with an acid cream: a comparison between the effect of lactate-gel and metronidazole. Gynecol Obstet Invest. 1986;21(1):19–25. 10.1159/000298923 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 35.Boeke AJ, Dekker JH, van Eijk JT, Kostense PJ, Bezemer PD. Effect of lactic acid suppositories compared with oral metronidazole and placebo in bacterial vaginosis: a randomised clinical trial. Genitourinary medicine. 1993;69(5):388–92. 10.1136/sti.69.5.388 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 36.Fredstorp M, Jonasson AF, Barth A, Robertsson J. A new effective, user-friendly bacterial vaginosis treatment: a randomized multicenter open-label parallel-group two-part study with a novel sustained-release pessary containing oligomeric lactic acid. HSOA Journal of Infectious and Non Infectious Diseases. 2015;1(1):100006. [Google Scholar]
- 37.van der Veer C, Bruisten SM, van Houdt R, Matser AA, Tachedjian G, van de Wijgert J, et al. Effects of an over-the-counter lactic-acid containing intra-vaginal douching product on the vaginal microbiota. BMC Microbiol. 2019;19(1):168 10.1186/s12866-019-1545-0 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 38.Nelson AL. An overview of properties of Amphora (Acidform) contraceptive vaginal gel. Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2018;17(9):935–43. 10.1080/14740338.2018.1515197 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 39.Andersch B, Brandberg A, Holst E. [Treatment of bacterial vaginosis—an acid gel as an alternative to antibiotic treatment]. Lakartidningen. 1990;87(7):465–8. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 40.O’Hanlon DE, Come RA, Moench TR. Vaginal pH measured in vivo: lactobacilli determine pH and lactic acid concentration. BMC Microbiol. 2019;19(1):13 10.1186/s12866-019-1388-8 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 41.O’Hanlon DE, Moench TR, Cone RA. Vaginal pH and microbicidal lactic acid when lactobacilli dominate the microbiota. PLoS One. 2013;8(11):e80074 10.1371/journal.pone.0080074 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 42.Witkin SS, Mendes-Soares H, Linhares IM, Jayaram A, Ledger WJ, Forney LJ. Influence of vaginal bacteria and D- and L-lactic acid isomers on vaginal extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer: Implications for protection against upper genital tract infections. mBio. 2013;4(4). 10.1128/mBio.00460-13 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 43.Ayehunie S, Wang YY, Landry T, Bogojevic S, Cone RA. Hyperosmolal vaginal lubricants markedly reduce epithelial barrier properties in a three-dimensional vaginal epithelium model. Toxicol Rep. 2018;5:134–40. 10.1016/j.toxrep.2017.12.011 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 44.Wilkinson EM, Laniewski P, Herbst-Kralovetz MM, Brotman RM. Personal and clinical vaginal lubricants: impact on local vaginal microenvironment and implications for epithelial cell host response and barrier function. J Infect Dis. 2019;220(12):2009–18. 10.1093/infdis/jiz412 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 45.van der Veer C, Bruisten SM, van der Helm JJ, de Vries HJC, van Houdt R. The cervico-vaginal microbiota in women notified for Chlamydia trachomatis infection: a case-control study at the STI outpatient clinic in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2017;64(1):24–31. 10.1093/cid/ciw586 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 46.Sabo MC, Balkus JE, Richardson BA, Srinivasan S, Kimani J, Anzala O, et al. Association between vaginal washing and vaginal bacterial concentrations. PLoS One. 2019;14(1):e0210825 10.1371/journal.pone.0210825 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 47.Food Drug Administration Center for Drugs Evaluation Research. Bacterial Vaginosis: Developing Drugs for Treatment. Guidance for Industry.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration; 2019. [Available from: https://www.fda.gov/media/129530/download]. [Google Scholar]
- 48.Sobel JD, Kaur N, Woznicki NA, Boikov D, Aguin T, Gill G, et al. Prognostic indicators of recurrence of bacterial vaginosis. J Clin Microbiol. 2019;57(5). 10.1128/JCM.00227-19 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 49.Sobel JD, Ferris D, Schwebke J, Nyirjesy P, Wiesenfeld HC, Peipert J, et al. Suppressive antibacterial therapy with 0.75% metronidazole vaginal gel to prevent recurrent bacterial vaginosis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2006;194(5):1283–9. 10.1016/j.ajog.2005.11.041 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 50.Andreeva P, Slavchev B, Kovachev S, Nacheva A, Vacheva R. [Treatment of bacterial vaginosis with high dosage metronidazole and lactic acid]. Akush Ginekol (Sofiia). 2002;41(5):36–9. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 51.Armstrong-Buisseret L, Brittain C, David M, Dean G, Griffiths F, Hepburn T, et al. Metronidazole versus lactic acid for treating bacterial vaginosis (VITA): protocol for a randomised controlled trial to assess the clinical and cost effectiveness of topical lactic acid gel for treating second and subsequent episodes of bacterial vaginosis. Trials. 2019;20(1):648 10.1186/s13063-019-3731-7 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 52.Anstey Watkins J, Ross JDC, Thandi S, Brittain C, Kai J, Griffiths F. Acceptability of and treatment preferences for recurrent bacterial vaginosis-Topical lactic acid gel or oral metronidazole antibiotic: Qualitative findings from the VITA trial. PLoS One. 2019;14(11):e0224964 10.1371/journal.pone.0224964 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Associated Data
This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.
Supplementary Materials
Data Availability Statement
All relevant data are within the manuscript and its Supporting Information files.