title: [Frequency of yeasts in vaginal fluid of women with and without clinical suspicion of vulvovaginal candidiasis].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to study vulvovaginal candidiasis from the vaginal fluid of women with and without clinical suspicion, identifying the frequency of Candida spp., and associating it with intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  a total of 286 samples from patients attended in private practices and public health units from August 2005 to August 2007 were collected, being 121 women under clinical suspicion and 165, without. The samples were collected with sterile swabs, taken to the laboratory in 0.85% physiological solution, and then seeded in CHROMagar Candida and in 4% agar Sabourad with chloramphenicol. Classical identification procedures were carried out: macro and micromorphology, zymogram and auxanogram. Data obtained were analyzed by frequency tests and contingency tables (chi2).
  
  
  RESULTS
  a total of 47.9% of the women under clinical suspicion got confirmation of candidiasis by the laboratorial tests. Among the patients without clinical suspicion (Control Group), 78.2% were vulvovaginal candidiasis negative according to the laboratorial tests. Candida albicans was the prevalent strain in 74.5% of the cases. There were significant differences among the positive cases, according to the patients from the two cities evaluated (p<0.05). Clothing was one differential aspect found among the two populations studied.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  the presence of predisposing factors does not necessarily define vulvovaginal candidiasis. Geographical localization has shown to be a relevant factor in the distribution of events. The type of clothing may be one of the reasons for it. Culture of samples from the vaginal contents, followed by microorganisms' identification, can be important.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, CEP 45662-000 - Ilhéus, BA, Brasil. joaoluciano2002@yahoo.com.br
authors.forename: João Luciano
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Andrioli
authors.forename: Gílvia Simone Andrade
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Cilene Souza
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Barreto
authors.forename: Zulane Lima
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.forename: Maria Cristina Haun de
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Irene Mauricio
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Cazorla
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fontana
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001826:Body Fluids / Q000382:microbiology*; D002175:Candida / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002181:Candidiasis, Vulvovaginal / Q000382:microbiology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology*; D015003:Yeasts / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D055815:Young Adult