Awareness of the Vaginal Microbiome and Willingness to Undergo Vaginal Microbiota Transplant.
Ellie Kroeger, Caeli Malloy, Chen X Chen and 2 others
PMID 41177523WHAT IT FOUND
Most respondents were willing to try experimental vaginal microbiota transplant for infections, pain or sexually transmitted infection risk, but only 24 (11.4%) knew it existed.
Safety and effectiveness are unknown.
Key findings
01Most respondents were willing or very willing to undergo vaginal microbiota transplant to prevent vaginal infections (62.4%), reduce sexually transmitted infection risk (61.9%), alleviate menstrual pain (60.0%), or prevent urinary tract infections (60.0%).
02Only 24 respondents (11.4%) reported awareness of vaginal microbiota transplant.
03Among respondents unwilling to undergo vaginal microbiota transplant, the most common reasons were uncertainty over safety or risk (64.3%), never hearing of it (46.4%), lack of research evidence on effectiveness (35.7%), not thinking it would help (28.6%), and finding it gross (28.6%).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 3.5% of contacted people completed the survey, so the sample may not represent the wider population. Respondents were volunteers in a research registry and received no compensation, so they may already be more interested in medical research and new treatments. The survey was in English and most respondents were White, so it may not reflect people most affected by bacterial vaginosis. The study measured awareness and willingness, not whether vaginal microbiota transplant works.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest or relevant financial relationships.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the high willingness as evidence that vaginal microbiota transplant works or is ready for routine care. The survey did not test the treatment, and the authors state that safety and effectiveness are not yet known and more research is needed.