{"doi":"10.1080/10647440300025523","title":"Improving Appropriate Use of Antifungal Medications: The Roleof an Over‐the‐Counter Vaginal pH Self‐Test Device","abstract":"<jats:p><jats:italic>Objectives:</jats:italic> To determine whether patients can understand and use the vaginal pH device in the diagnosis of\nvaginitis. To compare whether vaginal pH readings determined by patients and healthcare providers are similar.\nTo determine whether vaginalpHcan reduce inappropriate over‐the‐counter (OTC) antifungal medication use and\nimprove the correct diagnosis of vaginitis.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:italic>Methods:</jats:italic> One hundred and fifty‐one women indicated their belief about the cause of their vaginal infection, read\nthe instructions of the vaginal pH device package insert, used the device and interpreted the findings. The patient\ninterpretations were compared with results obtained by healthcare providers, blinded to patient findings.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:italic>Results:</jats:italic> Over 96% of patients stated that they could easily read the instructions, use the vaginal pH device and\ninterpret the readings. They obtained the same readings as healthcare professionals (Kappa = 0.9). Restricting\nthe use of OTC antifungal medications to those individuals with vaginitis symptoms and vaginal pH ≤ 4.5\nsignificantly reduced inappropriate use by approximately 50%, Fisher′s exact test,<jats:italic>p</jats:italic>‐value = 0.018. Conversely,\nseeking healthcare provider assessment with vaginal pH &gt; 4.5, leads to correct diagnosis of vaginitis.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:italic>Conclusions:</jats:italic>  The vaginal pH device can be used as an OTC diagnostic tool by consumers when a vaginal infection\nis suspected. Vaginal pH readings would direct patients whether to purchase an antifungal medication or seek\nprofessional diagnosis from a healthcare provider. Understanding and use of this vaginal pH device could reduce\ninappropriate use of OTC antifungal medications by approximately 50% and improve the correct diagnosis of\nvaginitis.</jats:p>","journal":"Infectious Diseases in Obstetrics and Gynecology","year":2003,"id":677935,"datarank":0.4943755299006494,"base_score":3.295836866004329,"endowment":3.295836866004329,"self_citation_contribution":0.4943755299006494,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.4943755299006494,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":26,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":null,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":false,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":null,"fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1771329,"name":"James C. Caillouette","orcid":null,"position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1771333,"name":"Joel S. Faden","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1771336,"name":"Tapon Roy","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1771339,"name":"Diana E. Ramos","orcid":null,"position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1771325,"name":"Subir Roy","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":false}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":{"has_enrichment":true,"resolved":true,"title":"Improving Appropriate Use of Antifungal Medications: The Roleof an Over‐the‐Counter Vaginal pH Self‐Test Device","abstract":"<jats:p><jats:italic>Objectives:</jats:italic> To determine whether patients can understand and use the vaginal pH device in the diagnosis of\nvaginitis. To compare whether vaginal pH readings determined by patients and healthcare providers are similar.\nTo determine whether vaginalpHcan reduce inappropriate over‐the‐counter (OTC) antifungal medication use and\nimprove the correct diagnosis of vaginitis.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:italic>Methods:</jats:italic> One hundred and fifty‐one women indicated their belief about the cause of their vaginal infection, read\nthe instructions of the vaginal pH device package insert, used the device and interpreted the findings. The patient\ninterpretations were compared with results obtained by healthcare providers, blinded to patient findings.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:italic>Results:</jats:italic> Over 96% of patients stated that they could easily read the instructions, use the vaginal pH device and\ninterpret the readings. They obtained the same readings as healthcare professionals (Kappa = 0.9). Restricting\nthe use of OTC antifungal medications to those individuals with vaginitis symptoms and vaginal pH ≤ 4.5\nsignificantly reduced inappropriate use by approximately 50%, Fisher′s exact test,<jats:italic>p</jats:italic>‐value = 0.018. Conversely,\nseeking healthcare provider assessment with vaginal pH &gt; 4.5, leads to correct diagnosis of vaginitis.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:italic>Conclusions:</jats:italic>  The vaginal pH device can be used as an OTC diagnostic tool by consumers when a vaginal infection\nis suspected. Vaginal pH readings would direct patients whether to purchase an antifungal medication or seek\nprofessional diagnosis from a healthcare provider. Understanding and use of this vaginal pH device could reduce\ninappropriate use of OTC antifungal medications by approximately 50% and improve the correct diagnosis of\nvaginitis.</jats:p>","is_dataset_classified":null,"base_score":3.295836866004329,"endowment":3.295836866004329,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"views":0,"has_version_chain":false,"is_dataset":false,"is_oa":false,"pmid":"15108867","pmcid":"PMC1852289","openalex_id":"https://openalex.org/W2172203285","authors":[],"funders":[],"total_grants":0,"fwci":1.5041,"citation_percentile":0.81505761,"influential_citations":0,"citation_trend":[{"year":2012,"count":1},{"year":2013,"count":3},{"year":2015,"count":2},{"year":2017,"count":1},{"year":2021,"count":1},{"year":2025,"count":1}],"oa_status":"hybrid","license":"cc-by","oa_locations":[{"url":"https://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/idog/2003/624806.pdf","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/idog/2003/624806.pdf","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"http://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/idog/2003/624806.pdf","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10647440300025523","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10647440300025523","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15108867","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/1852289","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://doaj.org/article/0944789aece04a90be97cf7cd1267b7d","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC1852289","host_type":"Europe_PMC"},{"url":"https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC1852289?pdf=render","host_type":"Europe_PMC"}],"fields_of_study":["Reproductive tract infections research","Menstrual Health and Disorders","Pregnancy and Medication Impact","Adolescent","Adult","Aged","Antifungal Agents","Candidiasis, Vulvovaginal","Cohort Studies","Female","Humans","Hydrogen-Ion Concentration","Middle Aged","Nonprescription Drugs","Reagent Kits, Diagnostic","Risk Assessment","Self Medication","Self-Examination","Sensitivity and Specificity","Treatment Outcome","Vaginitis"],"mesh_terms":["Adolescent","Adult","Aged","Antifungal Agents","Candidiasis, Vulvovaginal","Nonprescription Drugs","Female","Humans","Hydrogen-Ion Concentration","Middle Aged","Reagent Kits, Diagnostic","Self Medication","Sensitivity and Specificity","Vaginitis","Cohort Studies","Self-Examination","Treatment Outcome","Risk Assessment"],"keywords":["Antifungal","Test (biology)","Over-the-counter","Medicine","Pharmacology","Biology","Dermatology","Botany"],"sdg_mappings":[{"sdg_number":0,"sdg_label":"Quality Education"}],"linked_datasets":[],"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"database_accessions":[],"source":"live","citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-08-17T04:43:36.687860Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}