Vaginal candidosis. Opportunistic factors and clinical correlation in 600 patients.

Vaginal exudates were taken from 600 new patients of the gyneco -obstetrics outpatient clinic. Candida was isolated from 261 patients, 134 (22.3%) of which had this yeast as a component of the normal flora, and in 127 (21.2%) it was considered as a pathogen. The most frequent symptoms in the last group were vaginal discharge, erythema and pruritus. Pregnancy was the most frequent opportunistic factor, followed by the association of pregnancy and malnutrition, and anemia. Vaginal candidosis was more frequent in patients of the medium socio-economical stratum. The species of Candida isolated were C. albicans (67.7%), C. tropicalis (18.8%), C. stellatoidea (8.7%), C. pseudotropicalis (2.4%), C. parakrusei (1.6%) and C. guillermondi (0.8%).