Efficacy of fluconazole and nystatin in the treatment of vaginal Candida species.

The aim of this study was to determine and compare the efficacy of treatment with fluconazole and nystatin in Brazilian women with vaginal Candida. In a population of 932 women, vaginal cultures were performed for yeasts, whether or not the women showed signs and symptoms of vulvovaginal candidiasis. Yeasts were isolated from 12.2% of the women (114/932): 53.2% of the yeasts were Candida albicans, 27.0% C. glabrata, 13.5% C. tropicalis and 6.3% C. parapsilosis. Treatment was carried out with both drugs. The overall mean cure rates with fluconazole (87.0%) and nystatin (74.0%) were similar; among women with non-albicans, the cure rate with fluconazole was 100%, whereas that with nystatin was 44.4%. The cure rate for women with C. albicans was high with both fluconazole and nystatin; however, for those with non-albicans species the cure rate was excellent with fluconazole and very low with nystatin, differing from the majority of in vitro studies.