Causes and clinical symptoms of vaginal candidiasis in patients referring to selective clinics of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (2009)

Background: Candida vaginitis which is mostly caused by Candida albicans is the second common cause of vaginal candidiasis in women. This study was designed to determine the clinical symptoms of Candida vaginitis and their relationship with the types of Candida species in women referring to the clinics of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: In an analytical study, over a seven month period of sampling, through the examination of the history of 1100 patients, 450 were identified with chief complaints regarding genital infection. Samples were obtained from 280 of these patients according to their histories and the characteristics of their vaginal discharges. Of these patients, 105 were diagnosed with Candida vaginitis. The analysis of Candidal species was done through germ tube and chlamidospore agar tests. Results: Urogenital itching was severe in more than 43.8% of patients. White color genital discharges were more observable than other symptoms (88.6%). In negative Candida culture samples, severe itching, white color discharge, and disuria were reported to be 23, 80.8, and 43.5%, respectively. Candida albicans composed 70.5% of the samples. Colony count was between 51 and 500 in 49.5% of all samples. There were no significant relationships between colony count and rate of itching, family planning program, and other symptoms. Conclusion: Due to the uncertainty of diagnosis of this disease according to clinical symptoms and also, due to the consistency and resistance of Candida species, using culture method is recommended as a standard method of diagnosis.