Comparison of topical fractional CO2 laser and vaginal estrogen for the treatment of genitourinary syndrome in postmenopausal women: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of fractional CO2 laser therapy with topical estrogen therapy for the treatment of postmenopausal genitourinary syndrome of menopause. METHODS: We conducted a randomized controlled clinical trial involving 25 postmenopausal women. Participants were aged between 50 and 65 years with at least 1 year of amenorrhea and follicle-stimulating hormone levels of >40 IU/L. The women were randomized into two groups: the laser therapy group (n = 13) and the vaginal topical estrogen therapy group (n = 12). Changes in the vaginal epithelium thickness, Frost index, and cell maturation were analyzed in both the groups. The female sexual quotient of each woman was also evaluated. Subjective evaluation was performed through a physical examination. RESULTS: Histological analysis showed a significant increase in the vaginal epithelium thickness at the end of treatment in females in both the laser therapy (P < 0.001) and topical estrogen therapy (P = 0.001) groups. The topical estrogen therapy group tended to present a higher maturation index at the end of treatment when compared with that of the other group. Sexual function increased significantly over time in both the topical estrogen therapy (P < 0.001) and laser therapy (P < 0.001) groups. Subjective evaluation through physical examination showed a significant improvement in atrophy in both the groups. CONCLUSION: Despite the nonequivalence with topical estrogen therapy, our data suggest that laser therapy is an effective method for the treatment of vulvovaginal atrophy.