Microscopic diagnosis of vulvovaginal candidiasis in stained vaginal smears by Dutch general practitioners.

Objective: To determine the accuracy of the microscopic diagnosis of vulvovaginal candidiasis (presence of [pseudo] hyphae and blastospores) in stained vaginal smears in clinical practice.

Study Design: General practitioners trained in diagnosing vulvovaginal candidiasis performed microscopy of 324 stained vaginal smears. These smears were sent to the pathologist for confirmation of the microscopic diagnosis of the clinician; cytologic diagnosis by the pathologist was considered the gold standard.

Visualization of vaginal flora in cervical smears using a modified microwave silver-staining method.

The advantage of studying the vaginal flora to determine the bacteria and fungi present in cervical smears (as opposed to cultivation of these micro-organisms) is that the micro-organisms can be observed in their natural habitat. However, they are only faintly stained by the conventional Papanicolaou method. Accordingly, contrast is weak and visualization poor.