International Journal of Advances in Medicine | February 2020 | Vol 7 | Issue 2 Page 261 International Journal of Advances in Medicine Jahan N et al. Int J Adv Med. 2020 Feb;7(2):261-266 http://www.ijmedicine.com pISSN 2349-3925 | eISSN 2349-3933 Original Research Article Identification of various Candida species isolated from patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis attending a tertiary care hospital in North India Noor Jahan 1 , Pratishtha Vishnoi 2 *, Bhavana Gupta 3 , Swati Srivastava 1 , Siraj Ahmad 4 , Razia Khatoon 5 INTRODUCTION Candidiasis is an infection caused by yeast like fungus called, Candida. Vulvovaginal Candidiasis (VVC) refer to a disorder characterized, by signs and symptoms of vaginal inflammation in the presence of Candida species. It is characterized by curd like vaginal discharge and itching or erythema and is caused by overgrowth of 1 Department of Microbiology, Integral Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Integral University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India 2 Department of Medical Microbiology, Saaii College of Medical Science and Technology, Chaubepur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India 3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 4 Department of Community Medicine, Integral Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Integral University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India 5 Department of Microbiology, Hind Institute of Medical Sciences, Mau, Ataria, Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, India Received: 23 November 2019 Revised: 23 December 2019 Accepted: 27 December 2019 *Correspondence: Pratishtha Vishnoi, E-mail: vishnoipratishtha5@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT Background: Vulvovaginal Candidiasis (VVC) is a condition diagnosed in a large proportion of women presenting with complaints of abnormal vaginal discharge. The risk of VVC is high in women with diabetes mellitus, pregnancy, using oral contraceptives or broad-spectrum antibiotics and those having Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection. Objective of the present study was to identify the various species of Candida isolated from patients with Vulvovaginal Candidiasis. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done from January to June 2018. A total of 69 clinically suspected VVC cases were included in the study whose high vaginal swabs were collected and subjected to direct microscopy and cultured on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA). Creamy white pigmented colonies on SDA were confirmed as Candida by doing Gram’s staining. Speciation of positive cultures was confirmed by conventional methods like Corn Meal agar culture, Germ tube test (GTT), Candida CHROM Agar Medium (CAM), sugar assimilation and fermentation test. Results: Out of 69 clinically suspected VVC cases included in the study, only 14 cultures were positive for Candida species. All the 14 isolates were found to be Non-albicans Candida (NAC). Most common species isolated were Candida glabrata 7(50%), followed by Candida tropicalis 3(21.4%), Candida lusitaniae 3(21.4%), and Candida parapsilosis 1 (7.1%). Conclusions: Candida albicans was known to be the most common causative agent of VVC as it was isolated in 90% cases. However, this study showed that all isolates from VVC were Non-albicans Candida. Therefore, species identification should be done in all microbiology laboratories for accurate diagnosis of VVC. Keywords: Candida CHROM agar medium, Corn meal agar, Non-albicans Candida, Vulvovaginal candidiasis DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2349-3933.ijam20200076