  We revise the Thomas-Fermi approximation for describing vortex states in Bose
condensates of magnetically trapped atoms. Our approach is based on considering
the hbar -> 0 limit rather than the N -> infinity limit as Thomas-Fermi
approximation in close analogy with the Fermi systems. Even for relatively
small numbers of trapped particles we find good agreement between
Gross-Pitaevskii and Thomas-Fermi calculations for the different contributions
to the total energy of the atoms in the condensate. We also discuss the
application of our approach to the description of vortex states in superfluid
fermionic systems in the Ginzburg-Landau regime.
