First-void urine and cervicovaginal brushes as sampling devices for vaginal microbiome studies
This proof-of-concept study compares first-void urine (FVU) and cervicovaginal brushes to vaginal swabs for microbiome profiling in ten women. FVU and brushes provided comparable results in most cases, though storage conditions influenced microbial composition of FVU samples. Despite limitations in sample size and diversity in participants, findings support these methods' potential for self-sampling in women's health research, emphasizing the need for optimized techniques to improve vaginal microbiome profiling.