title: Clinical effects of nifuratel in vulvovaginal infections. A meta-analysis of metronidazole-controlled trials.
abstract: Nifuratel (CAS 4936-47-4) displays a strong antiprotozoarian and antibacterial activity and is provided with certain fungicidal effect, but it is not active against the physiologic flora. Its therapeutic effectiveness has been evaluated in more than 12,000 patients. The wide clinical experience with nifuratel confirms that the drug is safe and effective for the treatment of trichomoniasis, bacterial vaginosis, candidosis, and, particularly, in patients suffering from mixed vaginal infection. A meta-analysis of clinical trials comparing nifuratel and metronidazole (CAS 443-48-1) in vulvovaginal infections was performed. All parallel-group metronidazole-controlled trials carried out in patients with vulvovaginal infections have been included, complying with the following criteria: 1) cure assessed both as disappearance of symptoms and signs, and negative microbiological findings; 2) microbiological tests performed with valid methods still used in current practice. Seven clinical trials have been selected, including overall 1767 patients, 832 out of whom were treated with nifuratel and 935 with metronidazole. The results of the meta-analysis confirmed the equivalence between nifuratel and metronidazole: overall proportion of cured patients in the two groups were 88.5% and 90.0%, respectively, in the presence of homogeneity among studies (p = 0.342). In the fixed and random effect analyses, the confidence interval of Odds ratio included 1 and the p values for testing the hypothesis of no difference between treatments were 0.656-1.266, p = 0.582 (fixed effects) and 0.643-1.290, p = 0.599 (random effects), respectively, indicating equivalence. Furthermore, some controlled studies and the wide clinical experience showed that the cure rate of nifuratel in patients with mixed infections due to Trichomonas vaginalis + Candida or Trichomonas vaginalis + bacteria or with bacterial vaginosis and mixed bacterial flora is higher than that of metronidazole, due to the wide spectrum of action of nifuratel.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Frauenheilkunde und Geburtsmedizin, VIVANTES-Klinika am Urban und im Friedrichshain, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Mendling
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Poli
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Magnani
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000994:Antitrichomonal Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008795:Metronidazole / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009545:Nifuratel / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D014623:Vaginal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D000994:Antitrichomonal Agents; D008795:Metronidazole; D009545:Nifuratel