Treatment of vaginal candidosis with a single 500-mg clotrimazole pessary.

In a double-blind study the therapeutic efficacy of a single 500-mg clotrimazole pessary was compared with that of a 200-mg clotrimazole pessary inserted once daily for three days in 72 patients with vaginal candidosis confirmed by culture. On clinical assessment four weeks after completion of treatment with the single-dose pessary the cure rate was 86% compared with 92% after the three-day regimen. There was no significant difference in the eradication rate between the single-dose (94%) and three-day regimens (89%). Four weeks after completion of treatment the recurrence rates by culture were 18% with the single-dose and 24% with the three-day regimen. The former treatment was well tolerated and as effective as the three-day clotrimazole regimen.