Infecciones vaginales en pacientes gestantes de una clínica de alta complejidad de Medellín-Colombia

Objective: to describe the characteristics of vaginal infections in pregnant patients. pregnancy is a predisposing factor for vaginal infections, which can lead to deleterious consequences for mother and fetus. Materials and methods: a cross-sectional study. Population consists in pregnant patients diagnosed with vaginal infection in a high complexity clinic, January 2011 to June 2012. Sociodemographic, clinical, microbiological and therapeutic information were collected from the clinical histories of the patients. Results: 67 patients were included, with a median age of 23 (IQR 21-29) years; 40% were in their first pregnancy and 66% were nulliparous. Only 15% of vaginal infections occurred in the first trimester of pregnancy. The most frequently reported symptoms were vaginal discharge (59.7 %), lower urinary tract symptoms (26.9 %) and vulvar pruritus (23.9 %); the main physical findings were vaginal discharge (79.1 %) and vaginal stench (16.4 %). In 67.2% of cases were ordered the direct and gram of vaginal discharge, of which 64.4% were performed during hospitalization. Leukocyte reaction was present in all patients and in 90 % was moderate to abundant. 8 out of 10 patients had blastoconidia and pseudomycelia. The most common microbiological diagnose was vulvovaginal candidiasis (41.4 %), followed by bacterial vaginosis (24.1 %). Conclusion: vaginal infections are a condition with frequent symptoms, which usually occurs in the second half of pregnancy, being the Candida spp. the most common etiology.