Antifungal susceptibility profile of Candida species isolated from women with vulvovaginal candidiasis

Objectives: The objective of this study was to study the occurrence of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) among women with vaginitis and to determine the antifungal susceptibility testing (AFST) pattern of Candida spp. isolated. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was conducted in a tertiary care setting. The two high vaginal swabs were collected and subjected to Gram’s stain, wet mount examination, and cultured on blood agar and sabouraud dextrose agar with chloramphenicol. The cultures were incubated at 37°C for 18–24 h. The Candida spp. was identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), and AFST was performed according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines M27-A3. Statistical Analysis: The data was collected in excel sheet. The qualitative variables are presented as frequencies and percentages. The quantitative variables are presented as mean with SD and median. p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Analysis will be done by using Epi InfoTM statistical software. Results: A total of 961 women with symptoms of vaginitis were screened. Candida spp. was isolated in 108 (11.2%) patients. The median age of affected women was 29 years, and the majority belonged to 20–30 years (60.2%). Age <40 years was the significant risk factor (P = 0.016). Vaginal discharge was the most common complaint (82.4%),followed by itching (55.6%), vulvar edema, dyspareunia, and dysuria. Candida albicans was the predominant species (46.3%),followed by Candida glabrata (36.1%), Candida krusei (6.5%), and Candida tropicalis (6.5%). Ninety-six percentages of C. albicans were sensitive to fluconazole, while only 22.4% of non-albicans Candida spp (NAC) were susceptible. C. albicans showed 8% resistance to itraconazole and 8% intermediate resistance to caspofungin, whereas C. glabrata showed resistance to fluconazole, itraconazole, and caspofungin. Conclusions: The study showed a higher incidence of NAC and higher antifungal resistance leading to treatment failure. It is, hence, crucial to send fungal cultures, speciate, and perform AFST for all symptomatic patients of vulvo-vaginal candidiasis (VVC).