D. Raudrant et al., COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT MENSTRUAL TAMPONS ON THE VAGINAL EPITHELIUM - A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL-TRIAL, European journal of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology, 58(1), 1995, pp. 41-46
The effects on the vaginal epithelium of three different menstrual tam
pons in normal conditions of use were studied in 41 women during the m
enstrual period. The vaginal epithelium was studied in a total of 123
cycles at a structural and ultra-structural level with colposcopy, vag
inal smear and biopsy on TEM and SEM. One of the three tampons studied
showed a lower level of abnormalities on colposcopy (36.6% vs. 56.1%
vs. 68.3%), with an inverse correlation between the severity of the dr
yness and the quantity of blood absorbed by the tampon (4.2 g when the
colposcopy was normal vs. 1.8 g in case of severe dryness). Cytology
is not a good test for assessing the effects of tampons because of the
high rate of acellular and uninterpretable samplings. The biopsy effe
cts were defined according to their depth in the epithelium. The same
tampon showed the lowest level in biopsy;abnormalities. No correlation
was found between severity of the colposcopy and biopsy results, Colp
oscopy can demonstrate the degree of severity of dryness or any other
effect, but biopsy only confirms the effect and does not correlate the
degree of severity. Materials and designs of tampons can play a role
in reducing the drying effects to the vaginal epithelium.