Treatment of vaginal candidiasis with a single oral dose of fluconazole. Multicentre Study Group.

A single dose of 150 mg fluconazole was used to treat 180 patients with clinical and mycological evidence of vaginal candidiasis in an open, non-comparative, multicentre trial. The clinical response to treatment was excellent, with 97% of patients cured or markedly improved after 5 to 16 days. At long-term assessment (27 to 62 days), the proportion cured was 88%. Candida was eradicated from the vagina in 93% of patients at short-term assessment and in 73% at long-term assessment. The rate of relapse, reinfection or recolonization at long-term assessment in patients who had responded at short-term assessment was 23%. The incidence of side-effects was low, and consisted mainly of mild gastrointestinal complaints. Abnormal laboratory test results occurred in 15 of 167 evaluable patients, but all were minor and of minimal clinical significance. Oral fluconazole given in a single dose of 150 mg is an effective, safe and well tolerated treatment for vaginal candidiasis.