Epidemiologic Evaluation of Candida Species in Vaginal Swab Specimens: An 11-Year Retrospective Study

Authors : Selda Aydın, Okan Aydoğan, Özlem Güven, Ezgi Gözün Şaylan, Ayşe İstanbullu Tosun

Pages : 211-217

Doi:10.26453/otjhs.1626523

View : 97 | Download : 99

Publication Date : 2025-09-15

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Objective: Candida species may be part of the normal vulvovaginal flora, and hence their isolation in vaginal cultures does not necessarily indicate infection. However, vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a clinical condition particularly prevalent among women of reproductive age. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of Candida species isolated from vaginal swab samples (VSS) in the microbiology laboratory. Materials and Methods: This study was designed retrospectively at a university hospital in Istanbul, with a bed capacity of 950, between August 2012 and August 2023. A total of 7050 vaginal swab culture results were analyzed in the microbiology laboratory. VSSs were cultured on CHROMagar™ Candida (CHROMagar, Paris, France) to isolate fungal pathogens. Automated systems such as the VITEK 2 (bioMérieux, France) system or MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (Bruker, United States) were employed for undetermined colonies on this medium. The study evaluated the results of 2594 vaginal swab cultures and identified Candida species.  Results: The rate of Candida species in VSS cultures was 36.79%. The mean age of the patients was 36.1 years (range: 0–85 years), with 97.8% falling within the category of young adults. The highest prevalence of VVC was in patients 29–38 years of age (48%). Candida albicans accounted for 70.7%, non-albicans Candida for 26.4%, and growth of more than one Candida species for 2.8%. The most frequently observed non-albicans species was Candida glabrata, accounting for 23.1% of the isolates. Conclusions: C. albicans was the predominant species in VSSs. However, the emergence of C. glabrata as a significant non-albicans species is a serious concern due to its potential for azole resistance.
Keywords : Candida albicans, non-albicans Candida, vajinal kandidiyazis, vajinal sürüntü kültürü

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