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Professional /
Gynecology and Obstetrics /
Vaginitis, Cervicitis, and Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) /
... /
Inflammatory Vaginitis /
IN THIS TOPIC

Symptoms and Signs

Diagnosis

Treatment

OTHER TOPICS IN THIS CHAPTER

Vaginitis, Cervicitis, and Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)
Overview of Vaginitis
Bacterial Vaginosis (BV)
Candidal Vaginitis
Cervicitis
Inflammatory Vaginitis
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)

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Inflammatory Vaginitis

By

Oluwatosin Goje

, MD, MSCR, Cleveland Clinic, Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University

Last full review/revision Sep 2019| Content last modified Sep 2019
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NOTE: This is the Professional Version. CONSUMERS: Click here for the Consumer Version

Inflammatory vaginitis is vaginal inflammation without evidence of the usual infectious causes of vaginitis.

(See also Overview of Vaginitis.)

Etiology of inflammatory vaginitis may be autoimmune.

Vaginal epithelial cells slough superficially, and streptococci overgrow.

The major risk factor for inflammatory vaginitis is

Genital atrophy predisposes to inflammatory vaginitis and increases risk of recurrence.

Symptoms and Signs

Purulent vaginal discharge, dyspareunia, dysuria, and vaginal irritation are common. Vaginal pruritus and erythema may occur. Burning, pain, or mild bleeding occurs less often. Vaginal tissue may appear thin and dry. Vaginitis may recur.

Diagnosis

  • Vaginal pH and wet mount

Because symptoms of inflammatory vaginitis overlap with those of other forms of vaginitis, testing (eg, vaginal fluid pH measurement, microscopy, whiff test) is necessary.

Inflammatory vaginitis is diagnosed if

  • Vaginal fluid pH is > 6.

  • Whiff test is negative.

  • Microscopy shows predominantly white blood cells and parabasal cells.

Treatment

  • Clindamycin vaginal cream

Treatment of inflammatory vaginitis is with clindamycin vaginal cream 5 g every evening for 2 weeks. After treatment with clindamycin, women are evaluated for genital atrophy. Genital atrophy, if present, can be treated with topical estrogens (eg, 0.01% estradiol vaginal cream 2 to 4 g once a day for 1 to 2 weeks, followed by 1 to 2 g once a day for 1 to 2 weeks, then 1 g 1 to 3 times weekly; estradiol hemihydrate vaginal tablets 10 mcg twice a week; estradiol rings every 3 months). Topical therapy is usually preferred because of concerns about the safety of oral hormonal therapy; topical therapy may have fewer systemic effects.

Drugs Mentioned In This Article

Drug Name Select Trade
Clindamycin
 CLEOCIN
estradiol
 ESTRADERM, ESTROGEL, VIVELLE
estrogens
 Estrogens
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NOTE: This is the Professional Version. CONSUMERS: Click here for the Consumer Version
© 2020 Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA)
Cervicitis
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)
Professionals also read
Vaginal Itching and Discharge Vaginal Itching and Discharge
Overview of Vaginitis Overview of Vaginitis
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)

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