[Diagnostic reliability and incidence of genital mycoses in pregnant women].

Smears were taken from the anterior and posterior vaginal fornices of 232 women who attended prenatal consultations at Würzburg University Gynecological Clinic. The cultures were compared using Sabouraud's Glucose Agar (S.G.A.) and two commercially available rapid testing media--Nickerson Medium (N.M.) and Microstix Candida (M.C.T.) for saccharomycetes. The presence of saccharomycetes was demonstrated by means of S.G.A. in 23% (52) of the women and with N.M. in 10% (23). If only N.M. had been used, colonization by saccharomycetes would have been overlooked in 32 cases. With regard to the reliability of identification of saccharomycetes in the group, there was no significant difference between N.M. and M.C.T. In women without Candidiasis, negative findings with N.M. and M.C.T. were in agreement in 96% of the cases. Reliable identification of saccharomycetes in genital and gastro-intestinal areas is of special importance in prenatal examinations in view of the risk of infection of the newborn. The investigation reported in the present paper indicates that such reliability can only be achieved with the more costly culture method using Sabouraud's Glucose Agar.