{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T01:20:31Z","timestamp":1785547231057,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,1]],"date-time":"2024-08-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1722470400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) significantly impacts women\u2019s quality of life and often shows a high recurrence rate despite conventional antifungal therapies. This study evaluates the efficacy of <jats:italic>Limosilactobacillus fermentum<\/jats:italic> (LF5), a probiotic, as an alternative treatment option to conventional miconazole therapy in managing VVC.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>The randomized, single-blind clinical trial involved 100 premenopausal women diagnosed with VVC. Participants were assigned to either a vaginal capsule containing LF5 probiotic strain or miconazole. Treatments were administered once daily for three consecutive days. Microbiological eradication of <jats:italic>Candida<\/jats:italic> spp. and recurrence rates were assessed at 30 days post-treatment. The trial was registered with the Italian Ministry of Health.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Both treatments achieved a high rate of microbiological eradication of Candida spp. within the three-day treatment period (96% for LF5 and 94% for miconazole). Recurrence rates within 2 weeks post-treatment were low and similar between the groups (10% for LF5 and 17% for miconazole). LF5 was found to have a significantly lower incidence of local adverse reactions compared to miconazole (4 vs. 12%).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title><jats:p>LF5 presents a viable alternative to miconazole for the treatment of VVC, offering comparable efficacy with fewer side effects. The results suggest that probiotic treatments can potentially enhance patient compliance and quality of life by reducing adverse reactions and recurrence rates. Further research is needed to confirm these findings in larger and more diverse populations.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2024.1428590","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,1]],"date-time":"2024-08-01T05:24:47Z","timestamp":1722489887000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Efficacy of Limosilactobacillus fermentum in the management of vulvovaginal candidiasis: comparative analysis with topical miconazole in a single-blind randomized clinical trial"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Marco","family":"Pane","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emanuele","family":"Chisari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","year":"2019"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"CD009151","DOI":"10.1002\/14651858.CD009151.pub2","article-title":"Treatment for recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (thrush)","volume":"2022","author":"Cooke","year":"2022","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst. 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A clinical study","volume":"48","author":"Murina","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Clin. Gastroenterol."},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.1155\/S1064744902000078","article-title":"Can the diagnosis of recurrent vulvovaginal candidosis be improved by use of vaginal lavage samples and cultures on chromogenic agar?","volume":"10","author":"Novikova","year":"2002","journal-title":"Infect. Dis. Obstet. Gynecol."},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S162","DOI":"10.1093\/cid\/ciab1057","article-title":"Vulvovaginal candidiasis: a review of the evidence for the 2021 centers for disease control and prevention of sexually transmitted infections treatment guidelines","volume":"74","author":"Nyirjesy","year":"2022","journal-title":"Clin. Infect. 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Women's Health"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"164","DOI":"10.4161\/gmic.1.3.12127","article-title":"Safety assessment of probiotics for human use","volume":"1","author":"Sanders","year":"2010","journal-title":"Gut Microbes"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1961","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(07)60917-9","article-title":"Vulvovaginal candidosis","volume":"369","author":"Sobel","year":"2007","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1123026","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2023.1123026","article-title":"Vulvovaginal candidiasis and vaginal microflora interaction: microflora changes and probiotic therapy","volume":"13","author":"Sun","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front. Cell. Infect. 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