[The practice guideline 'Vaginal discharge' (first revision) from the Dutch College of General Practitioners; a response from the perspective of general practice].
The revised practice guideline by the Dutch College of General Practitioners (NHG) on vaginal discharge is intended to offer general practitioners a handle for management of vaginal complaints. Most general practitioners experience uncertainties in daily practice with respect to the diagnosis of vaginal discharge. In most cases history taking and physical examination fails to provide sufficient valuable information to arrive at a definite diagnosis. No further (microscopic) investigation is only permissible in a very obvious infection with Candida albicans. A recent onset of complaints of itching accompanied by white odourless discharge means a 70% chance of an infection with C. albicans. If the general practitioner also finds vulvar or vaginal inflammation and a nonhomogeneous fluor during examination the chance of an infection with C. albicans increases to 90%. In all other cases microscopic investigation is inevitable. This does not reflect an inadequacy of the NHG guideline but is a consequence of the limited diagnostic possibilities to arrive at a precise diagnosis.
Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum, afd. Public Health en Eerstelijnsgeneeskunde, Postbus 9600, 2300 RC Leiden. j.a.h.eekhof@lumc.nl
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JA
Eekhof
D002176:Candida albicans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002181:Candidiasis, Vulvovaginal / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D005194:Family Practice / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009426:Netherlands; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012955:Societies, Medical; D019522:Vaginal Discharge / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology