Treatment of candidal vaginitis. A prospective randomized investigator-blind multicenter study comparing topically applied econazole with oral fluconazole.

Two hundred and thirty-five women with clinically and microbiologically proven candidal vaginitis were randomly allocated for treatment with either one topically applied vaginal tablet of 150 mg econazole (114 women) or one orally administered capsule of 150 mg fluconazole (121 women). The women returned for follow-up visits 7-10, 28-35, and 80-100 days after the recruitment visit. Women with clinical and/or mycological failures and/or a recurrence were successively excluded from the follow-up. At the 28-35-day follow-up visit, the women treated with fluconazole had a significantly higher clinical/microbiological cure rate than those given econazole (P = 0.022; Fisher's exact 2-tail test). No significant such differences were observed at the 7-10 and the 80-100-day follow-up visits, although fluconazole tended to be more efficacious. Nine women administered fluconazole, and 2 women given econazole reported minor systemic side effects of the treatment. Three women out of 4 preferred oral to local therapy of candidal vaginitis.