Cervicovaginal opsonic activity, immunoglobulins, complement, and soluble fibronectin in healthy women randomly assigned to tampon or napkin use.

The effect of tampon use on cervicovaginal immunoglobulins, complement, fibronectin, and antistaphylococcal opsonic activity was determined in a study of 35 healthy women randomly allocated to either tampon or napkin use for three consecutive menstrual cycles. Sequential cervicovaginal washings were collected on days 3 (+/- 2), 15 (+/- 2), and 25 (+/- 2) of the menstrual cycle before randomization and that 3 months afterward. Prior to randomization, no statistically significant differences were noted for any parameter (with correction for total protein content) between regular tampon users and exclusive napkin users. Following randomization, total opsonic activity during tampon use increased significantly over that in the same women during napkin use (P = .04, Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test, two-tailed). This difference was observed only in menstrual samples and not at other sampling times. These data indicate that tampon use has minimal effects on cervicovaginal mucosal immunity and is not associated with aberrations of opsonophagocytosis in the lower female genital tract.