O'Dowd T C, Parker S, Kelly A
University of Dublin.
Br J Gen Pract. 1996 Jul;46(408):415-8.
Little is known about the management of vaginal symptoms despite their frequency. Most vaginal symptoms in non-menopausal women are managed as thrush, although bacterial vaginosis is commoner.
The aim of this study was to measure the experiences of women attending their general practitioner with vaginal symptoms including self-reporting of symptoms, duration and severity, informal support, over-the-counter remedies, sources of information, gender of doctor, expected and actual vaginal examination, and explanations and knowledge of common vaginal infections.
A postal questionnaire survey was conducted of 490 patients presenting with vaginal symptoms aged between 18 and 48 years who had attended 10 general practices within the previous 3 months in the East Midlands of England.
A total of 85% of patients had suffered a previous episode, with 39% having had three or more infections in the previous year. Overall, 68% consult with each episode, and most consult within 7 days of onset of symptoms (median = 4 days). In all, 68% discussed their symptoms with partners, families or friends, but 32% relied solely on their doctor. Some 33% bought over-the-counter remedies. A total of 65% informed themselves further from encyclopaedias, leaflets and women's magazines, but there was a strong request for more information. Out of those questioned, 75% expected a vaginal examination, whereas 57% had such an examination performed. Most were told their symptoms were caused by thrush (78%), but patients' ideas on causation were varied. Most believed sexual transmission played a role in transmission of symptoms. Women were socially embarrassed by their symptoms, with 46% admitting to having the condition on their minds all or most of the time. Twenty-eight per cent of women wished to see a female doctor, with gender being unimportant to the remainder.
Vaginal symptoms were commonly recurrent, socially embarrassing and managed as candidiasis. Just over half the patients had a vaginal examination. There is a shortage of suitable information on vaginal infections available to patients, many of whom used over-the-counter medications.
尽管阴道症状很常见，但人们对其管理知之甚少。非更年期女性的大多数阴道症状被当作鹅口疮来处理，尽管细菌性阴道病更为常见。
本研究的目的是衡量有阴道症状的女性在看全科医生时的经历，包括症状的自我报告、持续时间和严重程度、非正式支持、非处方药物、信息来源、医生性别、预期和实际的阴道检查，以及对常见阴道感染的解释和了解。
对490名年龄在18至48岁之间、在过去3个月内到英格兰东米德兰兹地区10家全科诊所就诊且有阴道症状的患者进行了邮寄问卷调查。
共有85%的患者曾有过发作，其中39%在过去一年中感染过三次或更多次。总体而言，每次发作时68%的患者会咨询医生，且大多数患者在症状出现后7天内咨询（中位数 = 4天）。总共有68%的患者与伴侣、家人或朋友讨论过他们的症状，但32%的患者仅依赖医生。约33%的患者购买了非处方药物。共有65%的患者通过百科全书、传单和女性杂志进一步了解相关信息，但她们强烈要求获得更多信息。在接受调查的患者中，75%的患者期望进行阴道检查，而实际进行检查的患者为57%。大多数患者被告知其症状是由鹅口疮引起的（78%），但患者对病因的看法各不相同。大多数患者认为性传播在症状传播中起作用。女性对自己的症状感到社交尴尬，46%的患者承认一直或大部分时间都在担心自己的病情。28%的女性希望看女医生，而性别对其余患者来说并不重要。
阴道症状通常会复发，会造成社交尴尬，且被当作念珠菌病来处理。略多于一半的患者进行了阴道检查。患者可获得的关于阴道感染的合适信息短缺，许多患者使用非处方药物。
