Beneficial Effects of Oral Lactobacillus on Pain Severity in Women Suffering from Endometriosis: A Pilot Placebo-Controlled Randomized Clinical Trial

• Published in: International journal of fertility & sterility 2019-10, Vol.13 (3), p.178-183
• Main Authors: Khodaverdi, Sepideh, Mohammadbeigi, Robabeh, Khaledi, Mojdeh, Mesdaghinia, Leila, Sharifzadeh, Fatemeh, Nasiripour, Somayyeh, Gorginzadeh, Mansoureh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Body mass index; chronic pelvic pain; Clinical trials; Cytotoxicity; dysmenorrhea; dyspareunia; Endometriosis; Fertility; Hypotheses; Infertility; lactobacillus; Laparoscopy; Menstruation; Original; Ovaries; Packaging; Pain; Patients; Probiotics; Statistical analysis; Surgery; Womens health
• ISSN: 2008-076X; 2008-0778
• DOI: 10.22074/ijfs.2019.5584

This study assessed the effects of a lactobacillus-based medication on pain intensity scores in women with endometriosis. The present randomized pilot placebo-controlled trial was done on eligible women who were surgically and pathologically diagnosed with endometriosis. Thirty-seven participants who had not received hormonal treatment in the last three months, were enrolled and randomized into LactoFem® and placebo groups. Lactobacillus capsules or placebo were administrated orally once a day for 8 weeks. Patients were assessed for pain severity using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores for dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia and chronic pelvic pain at baseline and after 8 and 12 weeks post-intervention. Mean age of participants and mean body mass index (BMI) for the LactoFem® and control groups were comparable. All patients had stage 3 and 4 of the disease based on revised American fertility society (AFS) classification of endometriosis. Mean initial pain scores for dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia and chronic pelvic pain were 6.53 ± 2.88, 4.82 ± 3.76 and 4.19 ± 3.53, respectively in the LactoFem® group and 5.60 ± 2.06, 3.67 ± 2.64 and 2.88 ± 2.80, respectively for the control group; the two groups had comparable scores in this regard. There was more decrease in pain scores for both dysmenorrhea and the overall pain after 8 weeks of treatment in LactoFem® group compared to the control group. The scores for dysmenorrhea were 6.53 ± 2.88 and 5.60 ± 2.06 in the LactoFem® and control groups, respectively, before intervention but, after 8-week treatment, these values were 3.07 ± 2.49 and 4.47 ± 2.13 (P=0.018), respectively. The changes in overall pain score in the LactoFem® and control group during this period were 7.33 ± 7.00 and 4.11 ± 1.68, respectively (P=0.017). This study showed some beneficial effects of lactobacillus administration on endometriosis-related pain (Registration number: IRCT20150819023684N5).