Treatment of bacterial vaginosis with an acid cream: a comparison between the effect of lactate-gel and metronidazole.

Bacteriological isolation of anaerobes, Gardnerella and lactobacilli was carried out in a group of 62 women with the diagnosis bacterial vaginosis and 42 control women. Lactobacilli were the predominant organisms in the control group whereas anaerobes dominated the flora in bacterial vaginosis patients. Lactate-gel (pH 3.5, 5 ml) inserted into the vagina daily for 7 days is as effective as oral metronidazole, 500 mg twice daily for 7 days. The women in both groups became symptom-free and objectively improved. Anaerobes were significantly reduced (p less than 0.0001) in both groups after 1-week treatment but Gardnerella was not significantly reduced. As bacterial vaginosis is generally looked upon as a mild noninflammatory condition lactate-gel seems to be an ideal treatment for this disease.