The following forms are distinguished according to their clinic and etiology (causes):
Clinic
- Acute colpitis with acute, pronounced symptoms and a laboratory diagnosis
- Subacute colpitis with minor or absent symptoms, but with a laboratory diagnosis.
- Chronic colpitis with often absent or chronic recurrent (recurring) symptoms and a laboratory diagnosis.
Etiology (causes)
- Infections:
- Frequent
- Bacterial vaginosis (amine colpitis) (40-50% of cases).
- Fungal infections with Candida (20-25% of cases). Of these:
- Candida albicans (about 80%).
- Candida glabrata (about 10-15%), especially in chronic infections.
- Candida krusei (rare, about 1-5%).
- Trichomonads (15-20% of cases, but rare in Germany, about 1%).
- Rarely
- Colpitis plasmacellularis (synonyms: colpitis plasmacellularis, purulent colpitis, follicular colpitis, purulent vaginitis).
- Staphylococcus aureus colpitis
- Toxic shock syndromes (toxic shock syndrome, TSS; synonym: tampon disease) – severe circulatory and organ failure caused by bacterial toxins (usually enterotoxin of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, less commonly streptococcus, then called streptococcal-induced toxic shock syndrome).
- Streptococcal colpitis
- A-streptococcal colpitis
- Puerperal fever/childbed fever
- Streptococcal induced toxic shock syndrome (STSS; Streptococcal toxic Shock Syndrome).
- Viral infections
- Condylomata acuminata (papillomavirus infection, HPV (human papilloma virus) types 6 and 11).
- Herpes simplex viruses
- Varia
- Atrophic colpitis (colpitis senilis; estrogen-deficiency colpitis) with bacterial superinfection.
- Foreign body colpitis with bacterial superinfection.
- Injuries (surgeries, pessaries, sexual practices, etc.) with bacterial superinfection.
- Various colpitis inducing substances with bacterial superinfection.
- Frequent
- Non-infectious colpitis
- Atrophic colpitis (estrogen deficiency colpitis).
- Postmenopausal colpitis (colpitis senilis; vaginitis during and after menopause due to the vaginal mucosa no longer being fully built up).
- Postpuerperal atrophic colpitis (” vaginitis after the puerperium due to the incomplete buildup of the vaginal mucosa).
- Dermatoses (skin diseases)
- Atopic vulvitis*
- Behçet’s syndrome (erosive, ulcerative, edematous).
- Lichen ruber (planus) (papular, erosive) (nodular lichen).
- Lichen sclerosus et atrophicus (LSA)* – rarely occurring, chronic inflammatory disease of the connective tissue, which is probably one of the autoimmune diseases.
- Psoriasis (psoriasis)* .
- Varia
- Injuries (e.g., surgeries, pessaries, sexual practices).
- Various colpitis-inducing substances (e.g., allergic, chemical, drug, toxic)
- Atrophic colpitis (estrogen deficiency colpitis).
* Relatively common genital dermatoses in young girls.