Clinicomycological Study of Dermatophyte Infections in Patients Attending Dermatology Outpatient Department in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Dermatophytosis is a fungal disease characterized by the infection of skin, hair, and nails. There is an upsurge of complicated superficial dermatophytosis and an increase in the incidence of chronic, relapsing, recurrent cases in India that are also often unresponsive to conventional doses of drugs. The aim of this study was to study the prevalence of dermatophyte species in the particular study area and it is susceptibility to itraconazole, terbinafine, and fluconazole. All dermatophytes isolates obtained were subjected to 10% KOH mount, fungal culture, and antifungal sensitivity testing for fluconazole, itraconazole, and terbinafine. Newly diagnosed cases of dermatophytosis without treatment for the past 3 months were included in the study. KOH preparation was observed and subjected to fungal culture. Then, the susceptibility of the dermatophytes to oral antifungals (itraconazole, terbinafine, and fluconazole) was done. Out of 28 patients with tinea, 14 males and 12 females were tested KOH positive. Out of them, 23 patients showed positive for dermatophyte growth. In them, 15 isolates were Trichophyton mentagrophytes and 8 isolates were Trichophyton rubrum. Antifungal drug susceptibility testing data indicated that, for the two species, MIC of itraconazole ranged between 0.03 and 16 μg/ml, terbinafine between 0.03 and 16 μg/ml, and fluconazole between 0.25 and 64 μg/ml. The study provided information regarding the prevalent species of dermatophyte in our study area and it is high sensitivity to itraconazole compared to terbinafine and the lowest for fluconazole. This gives us guidance as to which antifungal to use empirically in our clinical practice to treat tinea infection.