Authors : Reena Ray Ghosh, Samatirtha Chandra, Chandrika Goswami, Mitali Chatterjee
DOI : 10.18231/2581-4761.2018.0035
Volume : 4
Issue : 3
Year : 0
Page No : 159-165
Introduction: Dermatophytosis is one of the most prevalent cutaneous mycosis and a public health problem in West Bengal as well as in India. Its footprint spans far and wide across urban and rural Bengal, with a distribution that is determined by a multitude of factors like geography, environmental conditions, hygiene and sanitation. Despite its surging incidence, Dermatophytosis in Bengal remains a seldom studied topic.
Aim: The present study was undertaken to assess the burden of dermatophytosis by clinico-mycological evaluation using standard laboratory protocol and its correlation with clinical parameters.
Material and Methods: A cross sectional and observational study was conducted in 100 clinically diagnosed patients of dermatophytosis of skin attending the dermatology outpatient department of our tertiary care hospital. Skin scrapings, were collected from the active margins of the obvious new lesions and processed in the Mycology laboratory following standard protocol. All specimens were screened for presence of dermatophytes by direct microscopy using KOH DMSO preparation and were confirmed by fungal culture.
Results: Among all clinical types, Tinea corporis (58.0%) was the predominant clinical condition. Males were affected more (60.0%) than females. The predominantly affected age group was found to be 21- 30 years (35.0%) followed by 31-40 years (24.0%). Fungi were demonstrated in 72.0% cases by direct microscopy in KOH mount while 51.0% cases were found as culture positive. However 02.0% cases were KOH negative but culture positive. Microsporum audouinii (20.0%) was the predominant species identified followed by Trichophyton rubrum (10%). Some rare species like Microsporum persicolor, Microsporum distortum, Microsporum fulvum were also isolated in our study which are rarely documented in the literature till date.
Conclusions: In our study, males in the age group 21-40 years were most commonly affected. Tinea corporis was found to be the most common clinical presentation likely due to the poor hygiene and lack of sanitation amongst the study population, most of whom were manual labourers. Microsporum audouinii was the most common isolate.
Keywords: Dermatophyte, Dermatophytosis, Tinea, Microsporum audouinii.