Clinico-mycological study of dermatophytosis in a tertiary-care hospital in Ghaziabad

Introduction: Dermatophytosis is a superficial infection, which varies according to the geographic region wise, socio-economic level of the population, time of study, climatic variations, presence of domestic animals and age. Aim: To determine the clinical profile of dermatophytic infections and causative fungal species in the various clinical presentations. Materials and Methods: A total of 105 samples of clinically suspected dermatophytosis were collected. Direct microscopy by Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) and culture on Sabouraud's Dextrose Agar (SDA) and Dermatophyte Test Medium (DTM) was done. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 19.0 software. Results: Out of 105 clinically suspected cases of dermatophytosis, Tinea corporis 47 (44.8%) was the commonest clinical type followed by tinea cruris 19 (18.09%), Commonest age group affected was 31-40 years (27.6%) with male to female ratio of 2.38:1. Of the dermatophytes isolated, T. rubrum 19 (51.35%) was the most common followed by T. mentagrophyte 16 (43.24%) and E. floccosum 2 (5.4%). Conclusions: The major types of tinea were tinea corporis and tinea cruris. Among dermatophytosis, T. rubrum was the predominant etiological agent present and DTM being a good screening medium in the laboratory diagnosis of dermatophytosis when compared to SDA with antibiotics.