2.2. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
We selected all studies that met the following criteria for our PICOS
evidence-based research question: 1) Patients: individuals with
bacterial vaginosis, 2) Intervention: astodrimer gel, 3) Comparator:
placebo, 4) Outcomes: efficacy endpoints during active status of
bacterial vaginosis and safety endpoints, and 5) Study design: RCTs. We
excluded abstracts, non-randomized trials, patients with conditions
other than bacterial vaginosis, animal trials, and studies that did not
report any of our outcomes.