Athlete's Foot Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Athlete's Foot, including details on tinea, causes, treatment, prevention.

Dermatophytoses in outpatients attending the Dermatology Center of Avicenna Hospital in Qazvin, Iran.

Aghamirian MR, Ghiasian SA

Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Qazvin, Iran.

Dermatophytosis is still being considered as one of the major public health problems in many parts of the world. To identify the prevalence and etiological agents of dermatophytoses, a study was carried out between 2004 and 2006. Out of 1023 subjects suspected to have cutaneous mycoses, 348 (34%) patients were affected with dermatophytoses. The causative agents were identified macroscopically and microscopically after the clinical samples were subjected to potassium hydroxide examination and culture isolation. Epidermophyton floccosum was the most frequently isolated species representing 32.8% of isolates, followed by T. rubrum (18.1%), T. verrucosum (17.2%), T. mentagrophytes var. interdigitale (15.8%), T. mentagrophytes var. mentagrophytes (6.6%) and T. violaceum, T. schoenleinii and Microsporum canis (0.9%). The most common type of infection was tinea cruris (31.9%) affecting in particular male patients. Some other most prevalent tinea types were tinea corporis (20.7%), tinea pedis (19%), and tinea unguium (11.2%). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on dermatophytoses in Qazvin and the first study that shows tinea cruris as a major type of superficial fungal infection in Iran. The frequency of tinea was higher in males and tinea cruris showed a remarkably increasing tendency and was an important public health issue in Qazvin.

Published 7 February 2008 in Mycoses, 51(2): 155-60.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Athlete's Foot Research Today. All Rights Reserved.