Current Treatment Options for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis

Abstract

For practitioners, selecting successful therapy for vulvovaginal candidiasis is anything but trivial. The dominant problem; however, lies not with selecting the correct antimycotic agent, but with making the correct diagnosis and not treating non-yeast infections and noninfections as yeast-induced. Moreover, not all cases of vulvovaginal candidiasis are equal and practitioners owe patients the obligation of selecting appropriate therapy based upon the specific type and severity of vulvovaginal candidiasis. Uncomplicated candidiasis is readily treated with short-term oral or topical therapy, whereas complicated candidiasis needs additional strategies using the plethora of therapies available. Problematic refractory cases still abound and the pipeline for new, more potent antifungal agents is largely empty. Management strategies for complicated Candida vaginitis are discussed.