candida spp. aisladas en pacientes con vulvovaginitis de comunidades rurales del municipio caripe, estado monagas, venezuela, 2014 | candida spp. isolated from patients with vulvovaginitis of rural communities from caripe municipality, monagas state, venezuela, 2014

This study evaluated patients with symptomatic vaginal fungal infection in a rural area of Caripe Municipality, Monagas state, Venezuela, aiming to identify the species involved and their sensibility to antimicotics. Identification of species of Candida yeast was made with the use of CHROMagar Candida® and API AUX 20®. Additionally, in vitro susceptibility to fluconazole was evaluated by the agar diffusion method (CLSI, M44-A2). The prevalence of vaginal candidiasis was 23/86 cases (26.7%) among women 15 to 60 years. Candida albicans was the most common species among patients (39.1%). However, other isolated agents within the same genus Candida dominated (65.2%) and were identified: Complex C. glabrata (4/23; 17.4%), C. tropicalis (4/23; 17.4%), Complex C. parapsilosis (3/23; 13.1%), C.guilliermondii (2/23; 8.7%), C. krusei (1/23; 4.3%) and one episode of mixed infection with C. albicans and C. krusei (1/23). No statistical difference was observed between symptoms; vulvovaginal erythema occurred in all infected women. More than half of the yeasts (15/23) were sensitive to fluconazole. In this population sample, isolates of C. albicans and C. guilliermondii were 100% sensitive to fluconazole, while the C. krusei strain (1/23) isolated from a mixed infection was resistant to this antimicotic. Other species, like C. tropicalis (4/23), C. glabrata (2/23) and Complex C. parapsilosis (1/23) showed dose-dependent susceptibility to fluconazole. In gynecological evaluations of patients from rural or urban communities, with clinical picture of micotic vulvovaginitis, a microbiological study of vaginal secretions should be implemented.