One strain of Candida lusitaniae isolated from vaginal secretions: a case report

Candida lusitaniae vaginitis is clinically rare. This article reports a case of vaginitis caused by Candida lusitaniae in a 40-year-old female patient. The main clinical manifestations of the patient were pruritus vulvae before menstruation, increased vaginal discharge, and recurrent symptoms for six months. Vaginal secretions from the patient were directly smeared and subjected to immunofluorescence staining, Gram staining, and Giemsa staining, revealing fungal spores upon microscopic examination. Identification using CHROMagar chromogenic plates revealed the presence of Candida lusitaniae. The bioMérieux VITEK-2 Compact automated microbiology system identified the organism as Candida lusitaniae. The diagnostic and treatment process of this case suggests that laboratory diagnosis of Candida lusitaniae can easily be confused with other Candida species. To prevent underreporting or misreporting, it is necessary to consider the possibility of infection by rare strains in refractory cases.