Treatment of asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis to prevent pre-term delivery: a randomised trial

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of clindamycin vaginal cream 2% once daily for 7 days in prolonging pregnancy. Study design: Randomised clinical trial of 112 women between 14 and 25 weeks of gestation with diagnosis of asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis were enrolled in a multicenter randomised trial and assigned to active or no treatment. A total of 55 women were assigned to clindamycin and 57 to no treatment. Main outcome measure: frequency of pre-term delivery. Results: The rates of pre-term delivery was 12.2% in the clindamycin group and 15.7% in the no treatment group (P = 0.78). Birth weight was <2500 g in three and seven babies, respectively, in the two groups (P = 0.32). Mean gestational ages at birth were 38.9 and 39.2 (P = 0.52), respectively, in the clindamycin and no treatment groups. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that treating asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis does neither markedly prolong pregnancy nor increase birthweight. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.