Analysis of clinical and microbiological indicators of vulvovaginal candidiasis

Abstract

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is the most common vaginal infection. It is considered to be the reason for 15%–30% of all vulvovaginal symptoms. A diagnosis based only on clinical signs and/or on a syndrome-based approach, recommended by some authors and health institutions, is in many cases incorrect. There is no indisputable diagnostic method that guarantees high specificity, sensitivity and predictive value. There is no pathognomonic clinical feature of VVC. The aim of the present study was to assess the role of selected clinical and mycological indicators in the diagnosis of VVC using the standard complex scoring system. The research is retrospective and was conducted in several stages to give a more precise and detailed assessment of the examined clinical and microbiological indicators. Clinical, microbiological and statistical methods were used. The results showed the lowest level of compliance between clinical and laboratory diagnosis in VVC: 67.65%. We did not observe a statistically significant relation between the density of the vaginal smear, inflammation, odour test and VVC (p > 0.05). The results showed a moderate association between the positive yellow swab test and VVC (p < 0.05). A significant positive association was established between VVC and presence of microscopic signs of invasiveness (p < 0.001). The most common isolate was Candida albicans: 72.81% of all vaginal Candida isolates.