Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Canadian Family Physician logoLink to Canadian Family Physician
. 1989 Jun;35:1323–1326.

Vaginal Infections

Lindsay E Nicolle
PMCID: PMC2280409  PMID: 21248968

Abstract

Vaginal infections are among the most common complaints for which women see their physicians. The patient complains primarily of vaginal discharge or pruritus. Optimal management of these infections requires a careful history, physical examination, and laboratory assessment to determine the pathogen. Specific therapy is available for the three important causes of vaginal infection: yeast vulvovaginitis, trichomoniasis, and bacterial vaginosis. Concomitant sexually transmitted diseases should be excluded in women with complaints suggestive of vaginal infection.

Keywords: gynecology, infectious diseases, vaginal infections

Full text

PDF
1323

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Amsel R., Totten P. A., Spiegel C. A., Chen K. C., Eschenbach D., Holmes K. K. Nonspecific vaginitis. Diagnostic criteria and microbial and epidemiologic associations. Am J Med. 1983 Jan;74(1):14–22. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(83)91112-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bartlett J. G., Polk B. F. Bacterial flora of the vagina: quantitative study. Rev Infect Dis. 1984 Mar-Apr;6 (Suppl 1):S67–S72. doi: 10.1093/clinids/6.supplement_1.s67. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Berg A. O., Heidrich F. E., Fihn S. D., Bergman J. J., Wood R. W., Stamm W. E., Holmes K. K. Establishing the cause of genitourinary symptoms in women in a family practice. Comparison of clinical examination and comprehensive microbiology. JAMA. 1984 Feb 3;251(5):620–625. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Corey L., Adams H. G., Brown Z. A., Holmes K. K. Genital herpes simplex virus infections: clinical manifestations, course, and complications. Ann Intern Med. 1983 Jun;98(6):958–972. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-98-6-958. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Eschenbach D. A., Hummel D., Gravett M. G. Recurrent and persistent vulvovaginal candidiasis: treatment with ketoconazole. Obstet Gynecol. 1985 Aug;66(2):248–254. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hager W. D., Brown S. T., Kraus S. J., Kleris G. S., Perkins G. J., Henderson M. Metronidazole for vaginal trichomoniasis. Seven-day vs single-dose regimens. JAMA. 1980 Sep 12;244(11):1219–1220. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Huggins G. R., Preti G. Vaginal odors and secretions. Clin Obstet Gynecol. 1981 Jun;24(2):355–377. doi: 10.1097/00003081-198106000-00005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kirby P., Corey L. Genital human papillomavirus infections. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 1987 Mar;1(1):123–143. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Komaroff A. L., Pass T. M., McCue J. D., Cohen A. B., Hendricks T. M., Friedland G. Management strategies for urinary and vaginal infections. Arch Intern Med. 1978 Jul;138(7):1069–1073. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Osborne N. G., Grubin L., Pratson L. Vaginitis in sexually active women: relationship to nine sexually transmitted organisms. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1982 Apr 15;142(8):962–967. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(82)90775-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Persson K., Persson K., Hansson H., Bjerre B., Svanberg L., Johnsson T., Forsgren A. Prevalence of nine different micro-organisms in the female genital tract. A comparison between women from a venereal disease clinic and from a health control department. Br J Vener Dis. 1979 Dec;55(6):429–433. doi: 10.1136/sti.55.6.429. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Pheifer T. A., Forsyth P. S., Durfee M. A., Pollock H. M., Holmes K. K. Nonspecific vaginitis: role of Haemophilus vaginalis and treatment with metronidazole. N Engl J Med. 1978 Jun 29;298(26):1429–1434. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197806292982601. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Rosenblatt R. A., Cherkin D. C., Schneeweiss R., Hart L. G., Greenwald H., Kirkwood C. R., Perkoff G. T. The structure and content of family practice: current status and future trends. J Fam Pract. 1982 Oct;15(4):681–722. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Sobel J. D. Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis. A prospective study of the efficacy of maintenance ketoconazole therapy. N Engl J Med. 1986 Dec 4;315(23):1455–1458. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198612043152305. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Swedberg J., Steiner J. F., Deiss F., Steiner S., Driggers D. A. Comparison of single-dose vs one-week course of metronidazole for symptomatic bacterial vaginosis. JAMA. 1985 Aug 23;254(8):1046–1049. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Webb D. H., Fife K. H. Genital herpes simplex virus infections. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 1987 Mar;1(1):97–122. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Canadian Family Physician are provided here courtesy of College of Family Physicians of Canada

RESOURCES