Oral treatment of candida vaginitis: experience at the Special Treatment Clinic University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Seventy-four patients with clinical and laboratory diagnosis of candida vaginitis at Special Treatment Clinic, U.C.H., Ibadan were treated with daily dose of 400mg Ketoconazole (Nizoral) for 5 days. Forty had primary infection and 34 (46.0%) had recurrent infection. Vaginal skin infection, discharge, vulva pruritus and dyspareunia were the key symptoms and signs. Follow-up showed disappearance of findings a week following treatment except vaginal infection which was still present in 2 (2.9%) patients. Four weeks after treatment, 4--7% of the cases had one symptom or the other but more experienced dyspareunia. Mycological tests showed positive results in wet smear examination in 6.7%. Nevertheless, 80% of the 34 with recurrent infection preferred oral treatment to topical vaginal applications which they had had in the past. The implication of this result in treatment of acute and chronic vaginal candidosis in our community is discussed.