Characteristics of Vulvo-Vaginal Infections in 9-to 13-Year-Old Girls Undergoing Rapid Puberty

Background: This study was conducted to investigate the characteristics of vulvo-vaginal infections in 9-to 13 -year-old girls undergoing rapid puberty. Methods: Three hundred ninety girls aged 9 -13 years who experienced vulvo-vaginal infections while undergoing rapid puberty and were treated at West China Second University Hospital from July 2017 to June 2020 were ret-rospectively analyzed. The incidences of bacterial vaginosis (BV), intermediate BV, and vulvo-vaginal candidiasis (VVC) and the differences in these incidences for patients of different ages were analyzed. Results: The incidences of BV, intermediate BV, VVC, and unknown pathogenic vaginitis were 35.38%, 35.13%, 19.23%, and 10.26%, respectively. The incidence of BV was significantly higher than that of VVC. The positive rates of Candida albicans (C. albicans) and non-albicans Candida infections differed significantly at 80.00% and 20.00%, respectively. The BV and intermediate BV incidences did not significantly differ by age. The VVC inci-dence was significantly lower for 9-year-old girls than for girls of other ages. Conclusions: Girls undergoing rapid puberty are more susceptible to BV and intermediate BV infections than to VVC infections. The VVC incidence was lowest in 9-year-old girls. More attention should be paid to the effects of female estrogen levels, the vaginal microecosystem, and menstrual hygiene on vulvo-vaginal infections in girls un-dergoing rapid puberty. (Clin. Lab. 2022;68:1561-1568. DOI: 10.7754/Clin.Lab.2021.210450)