Frequency of vaginal candidiasis in pregnant women attending routine antenatal clinic

To determine the frequency of vaginal candidiasis in clinically symptomatic and asymptomatic cases of pregnant women attending routine antenatal clinic.

A descriptive cross-sectional study.

The antenatal clinic of Gynaecology and Obstetric Department at Isra University Hospital, Hyderabad, from April to October 2005.

A total of 110 pregnant women were nonrandomly recruited by convenient sampling. The studied variables included the demographic data information on parity, trimester of pregnancy, presence of vaginal discharge and the presence or absence of diabetes. Vulva and vagina were inspected for signs of inflammation and discharge with sterile speculum and vaginal specimens were collected with sterile cotton tipped swabs. Swabs were subjected to Gram staining and examined microscopically for the diagnosis of candidiasis.

The frequency of vaginal candidiasis during pregnancy was found to be 38%, in which 27% were symptomatic and 11% were asymptomatic group. Increased ratio of infection was observed in multigravida and diabetic women. There was no marked differences in results with respect to age and trimester of pregnancy.

Although there is generally a high frequency of vaginal candidiasis, an increased ratio of vaginal candidiasis in multigravida and diabetic pregnant women requires these women to be routinely screened for vaginal candidiasis regardless of symptomatic status.