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Meta-Analysis
. 2024 Jan 1;28(1):76-83.
doi: 10.1097/LGT.0000000000000790. Epub 2023 Dec 7.

Dequalinium Chloride for the Treatment of Vulvovaginal Infections: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Fanny Eckel  1 , Alex Farr  1 , Julia Deinsberger  2 , Karin Kernmayer-Farr  1 , Philipp Foessleitner  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Dequalinium Chloride for the Treatment of Vulvovaginal Infections: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Fanny Eckel et al. J Low Genit Tract Dis. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Objective/purpose: Women at reproductive age frequently experience vulvovaginal infections and vaginitis. The most common etiologies are vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), bacterial vaginosis (BV), desquamative inflammatory vaginitis/aerobic vaginitis, and trichomoniasis. Various treatment options are available for these infections, such as specific antimicrobial or antiseptic agents. Dequalinium chloride (DQC) is a local antiseptic agent with a broad antimicrobial and antifungal spectrum. Multiple studies suggest that DQC is an efficient treatment for vaginal infections; however, it is not widely recommended as a first-line treatment. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the efficacy of DQC compared with that of standard treatment.

Methods: Our systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and clinicaltrials.org were searched to retrieve relevant reports up to October 2022.

Results: Four randomized controlled studies and 1 observational study were included in this review. Overall, DQC showed noninferiority to the reference treatments for BV and VVC, and to the evaluated treatment options for desquamative inflammatory vaginitis/aerobic vaginitis. For BV and VVC, this could also be confirmed in a meta-analysis including 3 randomized controlled studies. No serious adverse events were reported in any of these studies.

Conclusions: Dequalinium chloride offers a safe, well-tolerated, and efficient treatment option for vulvovaginal infections of different etiologies. However, further studies are needed to confirm our findings and allow inclusion of DQC as a first-line treatment into guidelines.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Study selection process.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Efficacy of dequalinium chloride for treating bacterial vaginosis compared to that of the standard treatment: results of the meta-analysis.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Efficacy of dequalinium chloride for treating vulvovaginal candidiasis compared to that of the standard treatment: results of the meta-analysis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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