Treatment of bacterial vaginosis with intravaginal sponges containing metronidazole

A small clinical trial evaluated the safety and effectiveness of intravaginal sponges containing metronidazole for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis (BV). Twenty women were treated with sponges containing 250 mg metronidazole (two sponges per day for two days), and 32 were treated with sponges containing 1,000 mg metronidazole (one sponge per day for three days). After four weeks there was a significantly higher cure rate (P less than .10) for women using the higher-dose sponge (88.0% vs. 57.1%). Although not significantly different (P greater than .10), the rates of side effects and complications were somewhat more frequent for women using the higher-dose sponge. Additional clinical trials are being conducted to further evaluate the 1,000-mg-metronidazole sponge for the treatment of BV.