Single blind comparison of ketoconazole 200 mg oral tablets and clotrimazole 100 mg vaginal tablets and 1% cream in treating acute vaginal candidosis.

A single blind study of 103 women with vaginal candidosis was undertaken to compare treatment with conventional topical clotrimazole and oral ketoconazole. Both treatment regimens were equally effective in terms of clinical symptoms, negative results on culture for Candida albicans, and relapse rates. As treatment for vaginal candidosis takes several days, patient compliance is important and the success of a treatment regimen may depend on its acceptability to patients. Those in this study who had previously been treated for vaginal candidosis were asked to compare their current and previous treatments. Significantly more (p less than 0.001) of those treated with ketoconazole than those treated with clotrimazole found it more acceptable than previous treatment. This indicated a strong preference for oral treatment, and oral antifungal agents may be the treatment of choice for vaginal candidosis in the future.