Table 2.
Clinical characteristics based on Candida hyphae grade.
| Characteristics | Entire Study | H | NH | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H/NH | |||||
| HGH | LGH | HGH/LGH/NH | |||
| Number of subjects/total (%), unless otherwise stated | |||||
| Age | |||||
| Median (IQR), years | 64 (55–73) | 68 (60–77) | 61 (53–70) | <0.001 | |
| 70 (61–76) | 67 (58–77) | <0.001 | |||
| <49 years | 55/340 (16.2) | 15/135 (11.1) | 40/205 (19.5) | <0.001 | |
| 7/69 (10.1) | 8/66 (12.1) | <0.001 | |||
| 50–69 years | 174/340 (51.2) | 58/135 (43.0) | 116/205 (56.6) | ||
| 27/69 (39.1) | 31/66 (47.0) | ||||
| ≤70 years | 111/340 (32.6) | 62/135 (45.9) | 49/205 (23.9) | ||
| 35/69 (50.7) | 27/66 (40.9) | ||||
| Sex | |||||
| Female (%) | 271/340 (79.7) | 112/135 (83.0) | 159/205 (77.6) | 0.226 | |
| 58/69 (84.1) | 54/66 (81.8) | 0.455 | |||
| Pain symptoms | |||||
| Presence of SpP | 174/340 (51.2) | 69/135 (51.1) | 105/205 (51.2) | 0.984 | |
| 38/69 (55.1) | 31/66 (47.0) | 0.642 | |||
| SpP intensity, median (IQR), NRS | 1 (0–4) | 2 (0–4) | 1 (0–4) | 0.831 | |
| 2 (0–5) | 0 (0–4) | 0.520 | |||
| Painless | 166/340 (48.8) | 66/135 (48.9) | 100/205 (48.8) | 0.584 | |
| 31/69 (44.9) | 35/66 (53.0) | 0.728 | |||
| Mild a | 55/340 (16.2) | 23/135 (17.0) | 32/205 (15.6) | ||
| 11/69 (15.9) | 12/66 (18.2) | ||||
| Moderate a | 93/340 (27.4) | 33/135 (24.4) | 60/205 (29.3) | ||
| 20/69 (29.0) | 13/66 (19.7) | ||||
| Severe a | 26/340 (7.6) | 13/135 (9.6) | 13/205 (6.3) | ||
| 7/69 (10.1) | 6/66 (9.1) | ||||
| Presence of StP | 185/340 (54.4) | 98/135 (72.6) | 87/205 (42.4) | <0.001 | |
| 64/69 (92.8) | 34/66 (51.5) | <0.001 | |||
| StP intensity, median (IQR), NRS |
2.5 (0–6.5) | 5 (0–7.5) | 0 (0–6) | <0.001 | |
| 6 (4.5–8) | 1.3 (0–6.4) | <0.001 | |||
| Painless | 155/340 (45.6) | 37/135 (27.4) | 118/205 (57.6) | <0.001 | |
| 5/69 (7.2) | 32/66 (48.5) | <0.001 | |||
| Mild a | 25/340 (7.4) | 11/135 (8.1) | 14/205 (6.8) | ||
| 6/69 (8.7) | 5/66 (7.6) | ||||
| Moderate a | 86/340 (25.3) | 44/135 (32.6) | 42/205 (20.5) | ||
| 28/69 (40.6) | 16/66 (24.2) | ||||
| Severe a | 74/340 (21.8) | 43/135 (31.9) | 31/205 (15.1) | ||
| 30/69 (43.5) | 13/66 (19.7) | ||||
| PDSt, median (IQR), NRS | 0 (0–2.5) | 2 (0–4.5) | 0 (0–2) | <0.001 | |
| 3 (1–5) | 0 (0–2.5) | <0.001 | |||
| Presence of AggSt | 163/340 (47.9) | 87/135 (64.4) | 76/205 (37.1) | <0.001 | |
| 57/69 (82.6) | 30/66 (45.5) | <0.001 | |||
| Presence of AllSt | 55/340 (16.2) | 12/135 (8.9) | 43/205 (21.0) | ||
| 1/69 (1.4) | 11/66 (16.7) | ||||
| No pain difference | 122/340 (35.9) | 36/135 (26.7) | 86/205 (42.0) | ||
| 11/69 (15.9) | 25/66 (37.9) | ||||
| Tongue dorsal morphology | |||||
| Normal | 239/340 (70.3) | 84/135 (62.2) | 155/205 (75.6) | 0.008 | |
| 36/69 (52.2) | 48/66 (72.7) | 0.001 | |||
| Atrophy | 101/340 (29.7) | 51/135 (37.8) | 50/205 (24.4) | ||
| 33/69 (47.8) | 18/66 (27.3) | ||||
| Initial antifungal therapy response, topical fluconazole syrup, 2 w | |||||
| Effective on SpP b | 36/110 (32.7) | ||||
| 19/55 (34.5) | 17/55 (30.9) | 0.824 | |||
| Non-effective on SpP b | 7/110 (6.4) | ||||
| 4/55 (7.3) | 3/55 (5.5) | ||||
| No SpP | 67/110 (60.9) | ||||
| 32/55 (58.2) | 35/55 (63.6) | ||||
| Effective on StP b | 46/97 (47.4) | ||||
| 33/44 (75.0) | 13/53 (24.5) | <0.001 | |||
| Non-effective on StP b | 16/97 (16.5) | ||||
| 8/44 (18.2) | 8/53 (15.1) | ||||
| No StP | 35/97 (36.1) | ||||
| 3/44 (6.8) | 32/53 (60.4) | ||||
Differences between proportions were determined by the Chi-square test and range distributions were compared by either Mann–Whitney U test or Kruskal–Wallis H test. p values < 0.05 are in bold. a Pain intensity: mild, <NRS4; moderate, ≤NRS4, <NRS7; severe, 7 ≤ NRS ≤ 10. b Effective: full or partial pain relief. Abbreviations: H, existence of hyphae; NH, no observed hyphae; LGH, low-grade hyphae; HGH, high-grade hyphae; IQR, interquartile range; SpP, spontaneous pain; StP, stimulated pain; AggSt, pain aggravation by stimulation; AllSt, pain alleviation by stimulation; NRS, numeric rating scale.