Why bacterial vaginosis doesn't clear or comes back quickly
Factors associated with Refractory and Early Recurrent Bacterial Vaginosis
This project looks at the vaginal environment in women with bacterial vaginosis to find features that predict when the infection will not clear or will return soon after standard antibiotics.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11251220 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would be asked to join if you have symptomatic bacterial vaginosis and are treated with standard antibiotics. Researchers will collect vaginal samples at diagnosis and during follow-up, measure the types and levels of bacteria and other local factors, and track symptoms over the weeks after treatment. They will compare people whose symptoms resolve to those with persistent or early-returning BV to identify patterns tied to poor outcomes. The goal is to find markers that could tell a person and her clinician, up front, if usual treatment is likely to fail.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Women with symptomatic bacterial vaginosis who are receiving standard antibiotic treatment and can return for clinic follow-up visits are the most likely candidates.
Not a fit: People without active BV, those not treated with standard antibiotics, or those unable to attend follow-up visits are unlikely to be eligible or directly benefit from participation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to tests that identify who needs stronger or different treatment right away to prevent persistent or early-returning BV.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research has linked vaginal microbiome patterns to BV recurrence, but predicting very early treatment failure or refractory BV is less well-studied and this work is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
Baltimore, United States
- Johns Hopkins University — Baltimore, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Tuddenham, Susan Anne — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Tuddenham, Susan Anne
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.