Open AccessErythromycin versus metronidazole in the treatment of bacterial vaginosis
Author(s) -
Wathne Bjarne,
Holst Elisabeth,
Hovelius Birgitta,
Mårdh PerAnders
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
acta obstetricia et gynecologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.401
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1600-0412
pISSN - 0001-6349
DOI - 10.3109/00016349309021137
Subject(s) - metronidazole , bacterial vaginosis , erythromycin , medicine , gastroenterology , gardnerella vaginalis , vaginitis , vaginal disease , antibiotics , surgery , microbiology and biotechnology , gynecology , vagina , biology
Of 101 women, 15–50 years of age, presenting with vaginal discharge, 34 had bacterial vaginosis and were randomly assigned to a seven‐day course of oral treatment with either erythromycin (0.5 g b.i.d.) or metronidazole (0.4 g b.i.d.) in a single‐blind, cross‐over study. Treatment failure (≥ three clinical signs of bacterial vaginosis) occurred in 13 (81%) of 16 patients given erythromycin, as compared with three (17%) of 18 women treated with metronidazole ( p < 0.001). Persistence of Gardnerella vaginalis, Mobiluncus species and/or Mycoplasma hominis was found in 14 of 16 patients treated with erythromycin, and in four of 16 patients treated with metronidazole. Treatment with metronidazole was successful (≤ two clinical signs of bacterial vaginosis) in eight of 10 cases of erythromycin treatment failure. Neither of two cases of metronidazole treatment failure was cured with erythromycin. At three‐month follow‐up of 31 women, persistence or recurrence of bacterial vaginosis was diagnosed in 11 cases (36%).