Publication:

Antifungal susceptibility pattern of dermatomycosis in a tertiary care hospital of North India

Background Dermatomycoses affect the outer layers of the skin, nails and hair without tissue invasion and are often caused by dermatophytic molds, candida & non dermatophytic molds. Although not dangerous, they are important as a public health problem particularly in the immunocompromised. There are limited studies on the efficacy of antifungal agents against dermatophytes in North India.

Methods This study was conducted to test the efficacy of 5 systemic antifungal agents viz. voriconazole, itraconazole, terbinafine, fluconazole & griseofulvin using Microbroth dilution technique.

Results Three different species of dermatophytes which were isolated from the clinically suspected cases were Trichophyton mentagrophytes, T. rubrum and M. gypseum. According to the obtained results, Itraconazole and Voriconazole showed the lowest MIC range while Fluconazole and Griseofulvin had the highest MIC range for most fungi tested.

Conclusions Despite several treatment options being available for cutaneous fungal infections, due to an inappropriate response, there is an increasing need for determining an antifungal susceptibility profile for specific fungal strains. This will enable the clinician to select an appropriate antifungal agent with minimal side effects to avoid antifungal resistance and treatment failure.