A Single-blinded, Randomised Controlled Trial Comparing the Use of Intravaginal Laser Therapy to Sham in Post-menopausal Women With Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections (rUTI) and the Impact on the Vaginal and Urinary Microbiome

Recurrent urinary tract infection (rUTI) is a common and difficult to treat problem with limited treatment option; postmenopausal women are disproportionately affected. The genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) describes the broad spectrum of signs and symptoms caused by the loss of endogenous sex steroids. The combined effects of urogenital epithelial tissue thinning and changes to the vaginal and bladder microbiome can predispose to ascending UTIs. Recurrent UTIs is a component of GSM. Intravaginal laser therapy has been shown to be safe and effective for the treatment of GSM, however, the role of laser for treatment of recurrent UTIs is unknown. We hypothesis that the incidence of UTI will be reduced as CO2 laser restores vaginal epithelium to a state similar to that of a pre-menopausal woman, preventing microtrauma, and increases Lactobacillus and normal flora (Athanasiou et al., 2016). Lactobacillus is considered the bacteria that helps keep the vagina healthy and infection free through its production of lactic acid which lowers vaginal pH, this more acidic environment may be protective from uropathogens. We therefore aim to conduct a single-blinded, multi-centre, randomised controlled trial comparing the use of intravaginal CO2 laser therapy to sham in post-menopausal women with rUTIs and to determine the impact on the microbiome.