THURSDAY, April 21 (HealthDay News) -- Treatment with an intravaginal suppository probiotic may help prevent recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI) in premenopausal women, according to research published online April 14 in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Ann E. Stapleton, M.D., of the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues randomized 100 premenopausal women aged 18 to 40 with a history of recurrent UTI to a Lactobacillus crispatus intravaginal suppository probiotic (Lactin-V) or placebo after receiving antimicrobials to see if the treatment could prevent recurrent UTI by replenishing vaginal lactobacilli. The participants received Lactin-V or placebo once a day for five days and then once a week for 10 weeks.
Recurrent UTI occurred in seven out of 48 (15 percent) and 13 out of 48 (27 percent) of the treatment and placebo groups, respectively. In addition, the researchers found that high-level vaginal colonization with L. crispatus during follow-up was related to a significant drop in recurrent UTI only for the Lactin-V group.
"Lactin-V after treatment for cystitis is associated with a reduction in recurrent UTI. Larger efficacy trials of this novel preventive method for recurrent UTI are warranted," the authors write.
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