Abnormal vaginal flora (AVF), indicative of bacterial vaginosis (BV) and/or aerobic vaginitis (AV), amongst other abnormalities, is a risk factor for multiple complications in pregnant as well as non-pregnant women. Screening for such conditions could help prevent these complications. Can self-testing for increased vaginal pH reliably detect BV and other high-risk microflora types, and is this more accurate than performing Gram stain-based Nugent score when screening for high-risk microflora? A total of 344 women presenting at different outpatient clinics in Mulago Hospital and Mbuikwe Outpatient clinics in Kampala, Uganda, were asked to test themselves by introducing a gloved finger into the vagina and smearing it on a microscopy slide, on which a pH strip was attached. Self-assessed categories of normal (pH 3.6-4.4), intermediate (4.5-4.7) or high pH (>4.7) were compared with demographic and with centralised microscopic data, both in air-dried rehydrated wet mounts (Femicare), as well as in Gram-stained specimens (Nugent). AVF was present in 38 %, BV in 25 % and AV in 11 % of patients. High pH and AVF is correlated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), infertility, frequent sex, but not vaginal douching. Screening for raised pH detects 90 % of AVF cases, but would require testing over half of the population. As AV and non-infectious conditions are frequent in women with AVF and high pH, Nugent score alone is an insufficient technique to screen women for a high-risk vaginal microflora, especially in infertile and HIV-infected women.

We conducted a randomized trial comparing a high (120 mg/m2 day 1) v a standard (60 mg/m2 day 1) dose of cisplatin in combination with etoposide (120 mg/m2 days 3, 5, and 7) in advanced non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Two hundred forty-one patients were evaluable for survival and 207 for response. We obtained a 25% objective response rate in the standard-dose arm and 29% in the high-dose arm; this difference was not statistically significant. There was no significant improvement in the overall survival or survival of responders with the high-dose regimen. However, toxicity (mainly myelosuppression) was significantly increased in the patients receiving the higher dose of cisplatin. An analysis of prognostic factors showed that disease progression, loss of body weight, performance status, and prior therapy were predictive parameters of survival.

The vaginal composition of African women is more often lactobacillus-deficient compared to that of women from other areas around the world. Lactobacillus-deficient microflora is a known risk factor for serious health problems, such as preterm birth, cervix cancer, and entrapment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The aim of this study was to assess the effect of local vaginal antibiotic or antiseptic treatment on abnormal vaginal flora (AVF), aerobic vaginitis (AV), and bacterial vaginosis (BV) among women in rural, semi-urban, and urban areas in Uganda, as compared to placebo. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial, 300 women presenting for outpatient routine, follow-up, or medical care at Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, were enrolled to receive 6 days of treatment with vaginal rifaximin (RFX), dequalinium chloride (DQC), or placebo if they had an increased vaginal pH of >4.5 as determined by self-testing. At initial visit and at control visit after 4 weeks, a smear was taken for blinded wet mount microscopy to determine AVF, BV, AV, and Candida severity scores. As compared to placebo, both RFX or DQC treatments dramatically diminished BV prevalence and severity from the initial to follow-up visit: the BV score declined from 2.5 to 1.6 (p < 0.0001) and from 2.5 to 1.9 (p < 0.0001), respectively. Similarly, strong improvements in the AV score were seen in both treatment regimens: moderate and severe AV declined from AV scores of 6.3 to 3.6 (p = 0.003) and from 6.6 to 4.1 (p < 0.004), respectively. Also, women with AVF (deceased or absent lactobacilli) showed similar improvements when compared with placebo. Women with normal flora and Candida at the initial visit showed less Candida after 4 weeks in the group treated with DQC (p = 0.014). Even after a short duration of intravaginal treatment with local non-absorbable antiseptics or antibiotics produced significant, lasting improvements in the vaginal microbiome composition of women with disturbed vaginal microflora. As African women have high prevalences of BV, AV, and AVF, this approach could improve their odds to prevent health-compromising complications. Further studies assessing direct health outcomes are needed to substantiate this.

Self-measured vaginal pH correlated well with markers of high-risk microflora types such as BV or aerobic vaginitis, but not with STIs. Hence, in a screening program addressing AVF in low-resource countries, extra specific tests are required to exclude STIs.

Although further improvement is still possible, a short training course of 10 hours enables vast improvement on wet mount microscopy accuracy and results in fair to good concordance of the most important variables of the vaginal flora compared to a reference reader.