Phenotypic Evaluation of Strains of Candida albicans and Non-albicans Candida Species in Patients with Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Visiting Amir-al-Momenin Hospital in Zabol, Iran in 2019

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a common vaginal yeast infection in women. The present study aimed to determine the phenotype of Candida albicans and non-albicans Candida species in VVC cases.

This was a cross-sectional study on 65 patients suspected of VVC through a visit by a gynecologist. They were cultured on CHROMagar and Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA). If morphology of the colonies could be detected through microscopic inspection, physiological tests were used to identify individual yeast species.

Out 65 colonies, 53.8% had negative cultures. The frequency of positive cultures for Candida were also calculated (C. albicans = 38.5%, C. glabrata = 6.15%, and C. krusei = 1.53%). Most of culture-negative cases had no history of antibiotic therapy (94.3%) while most of culture-positive cases had a history of fluconazole therapy (56% in C. albicans isolates and 40% in non-C. albicans isolates). Relapse rate was calculated as 29.2%. Of studied patients, 80% had no underlying disease, 15.4% had a history of diabetes, and 4.6% had a history of corticosteroid therapy. Less than half negative-culture cases had an undergraduate degree (45.7%).

The incidence of VVC depends on various factors including occupation, underlying disease and history of antibiotic therapy. The most common cause of VVC is C. glabrata, secondary to C. albicans. Relapse infection rates can be reduced by increasing knowledge on clinical data, underlying diseases, mechanism of the organism, cause of infection, and effective treatment.