RESUMEN
Anogenital skin care for the elderly remains an umbrella term concerning protective and non-interventional regimens, particularly for ordinary diaper users. Our recent investigation has demonstrated the preventive effect of daily anogenital washing with miconazole nitrate-containing soap to the development of diaper candidiasis. We extended this work to cover our hypothesis as to whether the miconazole soap has a therapeutic benefit in genital candidiasis. The study outline includes: (i) the enrollment of 21 bedridden inpatients (84 ± 9 years; eight men and 13 women) who were diagnosed clinically and mycologically with genital candidiasis, and who had never received topical and/or systemic antifungal agents; (ii) administration of anogenital washing with 0.75% miconazole-containing soap once daily for 4 weeks; and (iii) assessment of clinical symptoms and detection of Candida materials by culture and microscopic examination. As assessed by clinical symptom scoring for incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD), the ratio of patients with severe to moderate symptoms dramatically decreased by 2 weeks and 10 of 21 patients became symptom-free at 4 weeks. The IAD clinical severity score was significantly decreased at 4 weeks. Compared with the baseline positivity, both microscopic and cultured Candida-positive rates were significantly decreased at 4 weeks after washing. All culture-detected fungi were Candida albicans. Severe adverse events did not occur in all participants. Individual medical and risk factors had no significant correlation with clinical severity and duration of candidiasis on variance analysis. In conclusion, topical washing with miconazole soap is a safe and reliable non-medical approach for soothing diaper-associated genital candidiasis in bedridden inpatients in whom it is difficult to perform prompt medical examination.
