Effect of topical use of solution containing ferrous ions on treatment efficacy in women with recurrent urogenital trichomoniasis

Abstract

Objective. To assess effect of topical use of solution containing ferrous ions on efficacy of metronidazole therapy in women with recurrent urogenital trichomoniasis. Materials and Methods. The study enrolled 55 women aged of 20–30 years with recurrent trichomoniasis after failures of multiple standard of care regimens. All patients received oral (tablets) and intravaginal (1% gel) metronidazole therapy. Participants in the experimental group (29 women) received intravaginal therapy with a solution of ferrous ions at concentration which was determined as effective for potentiating metronidazole in a previous study. In the control group, saline solution was used. Biological samples for laboratory tests were collected prior to treatment and on treatment days 4, 8 and 22. Treatment efficacy was assessed by laboratory results (detection of T. vaginalis, leukocyte-epithelial index). Results. Concomitant use of solutions containing ferrous ions at concentration 8.96 mmol/L can increase frequency of successful treatment outcomes in recurrent trichomoniasis. T. vaginalis was detected at the end of therapy in 10.3% of patients from the experimental group and 69.2% of patients from the control group. Conclusions. The concomitant use of metronidazole and solution containing ferrous ions makes it possible to increase the efficacy of therapy for Trichomonas infection. The results of the study allow us to consider topical use of iron-containing drugs to increase metronidazole treatment efficacy in recurrent trichomoniasis.