Publication:

Clinicomycological evaluation of dermatophytosis at tertiary care hospital in central India

Background Dermatophytoses are the infection of keratinized tissues such as the epidermis, hair, and nails caused by a group of closely related filamentous fungi known as dermatophytes.

Methods It was a hospital based cross-sectional study. A total number of 150 clinically diagnosed cases of skin, hair and nail infections were randomly selected from all the age groups and of both the sexes, attending Dermatology Outpatient department of CMCH, Bhopal from January 2016-December 2017.

Results Out of total 150 subjects, most common clinical type of dermatophytosis, identified in our study, was tinea corporis in 53 (35.3%) subjects followed by tinea cruris in 34 (22.6%) subjects. 134 (89.3%) subjects were tested positive by direct microscopy (KOH mount) and 69 (46.0%) by culture. Highest KOH mount positivity was seen in patient suffering from tinea corporis (94.3%) followed by tinea cruris (94.1%). Culture positivity was highest with tinea corporis (54.7%) followed by tinea lesions on more than one site (47.3%) and tinea cruris (47.0%). In our study, total 69 culture positive samples were isolated and the most common species isolated was T. rubrum in 41 (59.42%) cases.

Conclusions The present study gives valuable insight regarding clinical and mycological pattern of superficial fungal infections in this region as well as shows the importance of mycological examination of dermatophytosis samples for planning effective management.