Antimicrobial therapy for both partners found effective for women with bacterial vaginosis: NEJM

A new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine revealed that in addition to treating female patients, treating male companions with oral metronidazole and topical clindamycin decreased the prevalence of recurrent bacterial vaginosis after 12 weeks when compared to treating only women.

One-third of women of reproductive age have bacterial vaginosis, and recurrence is frequent. Treatment with a male partner may improve the chance of recovery, according to evidence of sexual exchange of organisms linked to bacterial vaginosis. In order to determine the impact of treating male and female partners independently on the prognosis of bacterial vaginosis, Lenka Vodstrcil and colleagues carried out this investigation.

The partners in which a woman experienced bacterial vaginosis and was monogamous with a male partner were included in an open-label, randomized, controlled study. In the partner-therapy group, the male partner got oral and topical antimicrobial treatment (two times a day for 7 days, 2% clindamycin cream applied to penile skin and 400 mg tablets of metronidazole) while the woman received first-line prescribed antibacterial medicines. The male partner in the control group received normal care, while the lady received first-line therapy. Recurrence of bacterial vaginosis within 12 weeks was the main result.