ABSTRACT
We studied prophylactic potential of local use of estriol in respect of urinary infections (UI) in postmenopausal women with asymptomatic bacteriuria (AB) suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). A two-stage trial has been conducted. Stage one (a prospective study) was made to detect AB in DM women with AB. Of 414 female examinees AB was detected in 87 women. At stage two these women were randomized into two groups: group 1 received 0.5 mg estriol as vaginal cream, group 2 (control) received no prophylactic treatment. After 9 months of the trial AB was detected in 19.4% women of group 1 and 68.4% of the control group (p<0.001). Clinically significant UI was detected in 8.3 and 18.4% examinees (p<0.001), respectively. No correlation was found between AB development and a HbA1c level. Estriol treatment resulted in a rise of vaginal health index (VHI), appearance of lactobacteria in the vaginal smear, lowering of atrophic vaginitis detection rate. No significant changes were registered in the controls. Thus, local estriol administration effectively prevents and treats UI in postmenopausal females.