Fluconazole use on the vaginal and gut fungal and bacterial microbiomes in Recurrent Vulvovaginal Candidiasis (RVVC)

This study investigated the interkingdom vaginal and gastrointestinal microbiomes of RVVC patients who use fluconazole intermittently (IF) or as longer-term maintenance therapy (MF) for symptom management and compared them to healthy controls (HC). Vaginal swabs and fecal samples were collected from 27 participants allocated to one of three groups. A novel interkingdom analysis was performed using 16S rRNA and ITS1 gene sequencing to compare the diversity and taxonomic composition of vaginal and gastrointestinal microbiomes.