Prevalence and phenotypic evaluation of Candida dubliniensis in pregnant women with vulvovaginal candidosis in a university hospital in Ankara.

Candida dubliniensis is very similar to Candida albicans in terms of genotypic and phenotypic characteristics. As the hormonal milieu of the vagina during pregnancy, characterised by a lack of maternal cell-mediated immunity, enhances Candida colonisation and serves as a risk factor for symptomatic expression, investigation into the isolation of C. dubliniensis in vaginal discharges of pregnant women with vulvovaginal candidosis was made. A total of 77 Candida isolates obtained from 60 patients positive for vulvovaginal candidosis collected from 218 pregnant women were investigated for C. dubliniensis subsistence. In total 41 Candida species phenotypically identified as C. albicans on the basis of a positive germ tube test and carbohydrate assimilation tests were screened for the presence of C. dubliniensis. Phenotypic tests for differentiation of C. dubliniensis from C. albicans, such as growth at 42 and 45 degrees C on Sabouraud dextrose agar, appearance on CHROMagar and colony morphology on Cornmeal-Tween-80 agar and Staib agar were carried out. Only one strain (2.43%) was phenotypically identified as C. dubliniensis. According to our study, a combination of at least five phenotypic methods is necessary for an exact diagnosis of C. dubliniensis. Large-scale studies of pregnant women are required to discover the aetiological importance of this yeast.