Vulvovaginal candidiasis is caused by overgrowth of Candida yeast species in the vagina. The most common clinical manifestations of VVC are pruritus, hyperemia, vaginal discomfort etc. Our study was aimed to ascertain the prevalence of vulvovaginal candidiasis and speciation of the Candida species with the help of culture and biochemical tests in the women attending Obstetrics and Gynaecology outpatient department (OPD). Isolation, Gram’s stain, culture and bjo chemical tests were done for identification. Out of 93 samples 62 showed growth of organism. Out of 62 grown organisms 56.45% were candida isolates and rest were Trichomonas vaginalis, Gardnerella vaginalis and enterobactericeae family organism (which were usually considered as faecal contaminants). The most common candida species was Candida albicans (80%) followed by C. intermedia (8.58%), C. krusei (5.71%) and C. guillermondii (5.71%). On the basis of gram’s stain findings, out of 93 examined smears only 37.63% showed presence of budding yeast cells with pseudohuphae. So this study depicts the importance of culture for right diagnosis and also alarms the emergence of non[1]albicans species in the vaginal discharge.
