Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) remains one of the most important consequences of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) resulting in severe morbidity and acting as the economic justification for STI screening programmes. Early and appropriate therapy has the potential to significantly reduce the long-term complications of PID, and these evidence-based guidelines provide advice on the management of pelvic infection including the use of appropriate antimicrobial regimens.

Providing guidelines to health care workers during a period of rapidly evolving viral pandemic infections is not an easy task, but it is extremely necessary in order to coordinate appropriate action so that all patients will get the best possible care given the circumstances they are in. With these International Society of Infectious Disease in Obstetrics and Gynecology (ISIDOG) guidelines we aim to provide detailed information on how to diagnose and manage pregnant women living in a pandemic of COVID-19. Pregnant women need to be considered as a high-risk population for COVID-19 infection, and if suspected or proven to be infected with the virus, they require special care in order to improve their survival rate and the well-being of their babies. Both protection of healthcare workers in such specific care situations and maximal protection of mother and child are envisioned.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of moxifloxacin versus levofloxacin plus metronidazole in uncomplicated pelvic inflammatory disease (uPID) in Asia.Design Prospective, randomised, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel-group study.Setting Multicentre, multinational study in the inpatient and/or outpatient setting.Population Women (aged ‡18 years) with uPID (defined as PID with no pelvic or tubo-ovarian abscess on pelvic ultrasonography and at laparoscopic examination) and not requiring intravenous treatment.Methods Women received a 14-day course of either oral moxifloxacin, 400 mg once daily, or oral levofloxacin, 500 mg once daily, plus oral metronidazole, 500 mg twice daily. Additionally, a single dose of ceftriaxone, 250 mg intramuscularly, was administered to women who had a positive screening test for Neisseria gonorrhoeae.Main outcome measures The primary measure of efficacy was clinical response at test-of-cure (TOC) (7-14 days after the last dose of study drug) in the per-protocol population. Noninferiority of moxifloxacin to the comparator regimen was demonstrated if lower limit of 95% CI was >)15%. Other measures were clinical response during therapy and at 4-week follow up, microbiological response at TOC, and safety.Results A total of 460 women were randomised to the study. For the primary measure of efficacy (clinical cure at TOC), moxifloxacin was noninferior to levofloxacin plus metronidazole (moxifloxacin: 152/194, 78.4%; comparator 155/190, 81.6%; 95% CI )10.7 to +4.9). The most commonly isolated pathogens at baseline included Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Peptostreptococcus spp., Proteus mirabilis, Streptococcus agalactiae and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Bacteriological success rates were high and comparable between treatment arms (microbiologically valid populations, moxifloxacin 27/30, 90.0%; comparator 22/26, 84.6%; 95% CI )12.7 to +20.3). Both treatments were well tolerated.Conclusions Moxifloxacin monotherapy, 400 mg once daily for 14 days, is an effective and well-tolerated oral treatment for women with uPID.Keywords Levofloxacin, metronidazole, moxifloxacin, uncomplicated pelvic inflammatory disease.Please cite this paper as: Judlin P, Liao Q, Liu Z, Reimnitz P, Hampel B, Arvis P. Efficacy and safety of moxifloxacin in uncomplicated pelvic inflammatory disease: the MONALISA study.

Current management of PID requires easily reproducible investigations and treatment, and thus can be applied worldwide.

Objective. This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a prebiotic treatment in the balance recovery of the vaginal flora in subjects previously treated for bacterial vaginosis (BV). Study Design. A randomized trial was carried out on 42 subjects with an active prebiotic group compared to a placebo group. The main evaluation criterion was the quantification of the vaginal flora measured by the Nugent score. Secondary criteria included vaginal pH and BV recurrence. Results. After 8 days of treatment, all subjects who received the prebiotic had a normal Nugent score, whereas 33% of the subjects treated with placebo had an intermediate or positive Nugent score. After 16 days of application, a normal Nugent score was maintained in all subjects treated with the prebiotic, whereas in the placebo group 24% of the subjects still had an elevated Nugent score. Moreover, the maintenance of (or reversion to) a normal flora was associated with the maintenance of (or reversion to) physiological pH values. Conclusions. The intravaginal gel treatment improves the recovery of a normal vaginal flora after the treatment of a BV episode, which should warrant a reduction in the risk of further recurrences.

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This guideline was produced by the European region of the International Union against sexually transmitted infections (IUSTI) and refers to ascending infections in the female genital tract unrelated to delivery and surgery and does not include actinomyces-related infection.

Gynophilus® (Lcr regenerans®) is a live biotherapeutic product (LBP) that contains the live biotherapeutic microorganism Lactobacillus rhamnosus Lcr35®, which is indicated to restore vaginal health. The aim of the study was to compare the safety, ease of use, and compliance of two formulations (immediate release: IR capsule and slow release: SR muco-adhesive tablets) as well as the colonization of Lcr35® in healthy women. This phase I study (Comprigel) is a parallel, randomized, 4-arm, and open-label clinical trial evaluating an IR daily capsule formulation vs. a SR tablet administered every 3, 4, or 5 days for 21 days. Self-collected vaginal swabs were used to quantify Lcr35® and characterize the composition and structure of the vaginal microbiota. Both LBPs were well-tolerated, and no severe adverse effects were reported. All groups had Lcr35® vaginal concentrations over 107 colony forming unit per milliliter of vaginal secretion on each day in the study. The new Gynophilus® slow release tablets administered either every 3, 4, or 5 days provided vaginal concentrations that were not significantly different from those of classic Gynophilus® (capsule) once-a-day regimen. The LBPs and the different regimens did not adversely influence the abundance of native Lactobacillus spp. and indeed tended to favor their growth and reduce colonization by non-Lactobacillus spp. This study illustrates that the SR muco-adhesive LBP tablet (Gynophilus® SR) administered every 3 or 4 days as a safe, well-tolerated, and efficacious alternative to a more demanding IR daily capsule and could protect women’s healthy vaginal microbiome by promoting endogenous Lactobacillus spp.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s10096-018-3321-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.