Single dose oral fluconazole vs intravaginal terconazole in treatment of Candida vaginitis. Comparison and pilot study.

Candida vaginitis develops in approximately one-fourth of women in their childbearing years. Conventional management consists of antifungal creams or tablets/suppositories administered intravaginally. Many patients have stated preferences for oral therapy. A randomized, double-blind placebo trial compared the efficacy of a single oral 200 mg dose of fluconazole with the application of terconazole 80 mg vaginal suppository daily for 3 days. Twenty-two patients (fluconazole = 12, terconazole = 10) were evaluated during a four-month period and favorable clinical responses were observed at both early and late evaluations. Mycologic cure was attained by 75% of the fluconazole group and 50% of the terconazole group at the early evaluation. At the late evaluation, mycologic cure was 75% and 100% respectively. The mean time to onset of symptom relief was 2.4 (1.7) days for the fluconazole group and 1.8 (1.8) days for the terconazole group. The mean time to complete relief of symptoms was 6.08 (2.84) and 6.6 (2.95) days respectively. A statistically significant difference did not exist for any of these measures. Seventy-three percent of the patients preferred oral therapy.