Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC) is caused by Candida spp., a vaginal colonizer. Despite the clinical importance of RVVC, little is known regarding the characteristics of the disease in Portugal. Thirty-six clinical cases were analyzed, comprising 93 yeast vulvovaginal isolates obtained from women attending a gynecologic consultation at a private clinic. Of these, 18 women were diagnosed with RVVC, while other 18 women had a sporadic episode of infection (nonrecurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis [NR-VVC]). Species identification was performed with CHROMagar chromogenic medium and by analysis of biochemical profiles. In addition, antifungal susceptibility testing for two azole compounds was performed by broth microdilution. We found that Candida albicans was isolated from both NR-VVC and RVVC cases, being highly predominant; C. glabrata and C. tropicalis were also isolated. Resistance to at least one antifungal was detected in up to 65% of the isolates, and resistance to both antifungals reached a frequency of 25%. Moreover, azole-resistant isolates were distributed among all species identified. We conclude that in the studied group of patients, C. albicans is in fact the major player both in NR-VVC and in RVVC, C. glabrata being more frequently associated with recurrence (p < 0.05). In addition, we found a high proportion of azole-resistant strains.

中文翻译：

---

非复发性和复发性外阴阴道念珠菌病女性分离株的物种分布和抗真菌药敏谱

复发性外阴阴道念珠菌病 (RVVC) 是由阴道定植菌念珠菌属引起的。尽管 RVVC 具有临床重要性，但对该病在葡萄牙的特征知之甚少。分析了 36 个临床病例，包括从在私人诊所参加妇科咨询的妇女获得的 93 株酵母外阴阴道分离株。其中，18 名女性被诊断为 RVVC，而其他 18 名女性有散发性感染（非复发性外阴阴道念珠菌病 [NR-VVC]）。物种鉴定是用 CHROMagar 显色培养基和生化图谱分析进行的。此外，通过肉汤微量稀释对两种唑类化合物进行了抗真菌药敏试验。我们发现白色念珠菌从 NR-VVC 和 RVVC 病例中分离出来，高度显着；光滑念珠菌和热带念珠菌也分离。在多达 65% 的分离株中检测到对至少一种抗真菌药的耐药性，对两种抗真菌药的耐药率达到 25%。此外，唑类抗性分离株分布在所有鉴定的物种中。我们得出结论，在所研究的患者组中，白色念珠菌实际上是 NR-VVC 和 RVVC 中的主要参与者，光滑念珠菌与复发相关的频率更高（p  < 0.05）。此外，我们发现了高比例的唑类抗性菌株。