Clinico Mycological Profile of Dermatophyte Infections at A Tertiary Care Hospital from South India

The prevalence of Dermatophytosis is similar in several continents of the Asian country. The varied state of weather is favourable for mycosis that may lead to various clinical symptoms and infection spreads speedily if left untreated with time. The aim of the present study is to determine the clinical and mycological pattern of dermatophyte infections in patients arriving at our dermatology outpatient department and also to correlate the formal clinical diagnosis with KOH positivity and culture positivity. This descriptive observational study was conducted among 300 patients presenting with dermatophyte infections who came to the dermatology outpatient Department of SRM Medical College and research centre, Kattankulathur, Chengalpattu. The clinical specimens were put through direct microscopy by Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) mount and with the culture on Sabouraud’s Dextrose Agar (SDA). The study showed males were affected mostly and most of the participants were students. The common symptoms observed were Itching, Scaling and Discolouration. Commonly, patients had a primary diagnosis of Tinea corporis infection followed by T. cruris. Trichophyton mentagrophytes were the commonly isolated organism followed by Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton violaceum. This study indicates the need for personal hygiene and the disadvantage of as only few participants had zoophilic infections of Tinea species. These methods of diagnosing and identification will further aid in better patients management.