Prevalence of tinea facei and tinea capitis in rural population of chitradurga in India

Introduction: Dermatophyte infections are common skin diseases and affecting millions of people globally. Commonly seen in normal healthy as well as and immunocompromised subjects. The present study is aimed to study the prevalence of Tinea facei and Tinea capitis in Chitradurga rural population. Materials and methods: This is a prospective observational study, conducted at Department of Dermatology, Basaveshwara Medical College and Hospital, Chitradurga. A total of 426 patients showing lesions typical of dermatophyte infection were included in this study. Among 426 tines suffering patients, 55 patients had Tinea facei, 21 patients had Tinea capitis. A detailed clinical history was taken from study subjects. Mycological examinations including direct microscopy and culture studies were done. Results: A total of 426 patients with suspected dermatophyte infections were analyzed. Among them 55 were clinically diagnosed as Tinea facei and 21 were clinically diagnosed as Tineacapitis. Out of 55 Tinea facei patients, 45 were KOH positive and 27 were culture positive whereas 10 patients were KOH negative but culture positive. Out of 21 Tinea capitis patients, 16 patients were KOH positive and 11 were culture positive whereas 05 patients were KOH negative but culture positive. Conclusion: In the present study, we screened 426 subjects of dermatophytosis, the prevalence of Tinea facei was found to be 8.6% (37 subjects, both culture and KOH positive) and prevalence of Tinea capitis was found to be 3.7% (16 subjects, both culture and KOH positive). From this study results, it may be concluded that identification of dermatophyte infection is important to prevent transmission of infection and for prompt treatment.