A clinicomycological study of tinea capitis in South Karnataka

Background: Tinea capitis is a superficial fungal infection in which scalp hair follicle are affected. It is most commonly seen among school going children. Now a days there is a drastic emergence of resistance to antifungal treatments and also we are observing changing trend in pattern and causing organism. Objectives: The present study was conducted to identify and classify the prevalent clinical pattern of tinea capitis in our region and to define the spectrum of dermatophyte species causing the tinea capitis in our region. Materials and Method: After taking informed written consent from the parents or the guardian, 100 new clinically diagnosed cases of tinea capitis were taken for the study over a period of 12 months from January 2015 to December 2015 in the Dermatology department, K.R Hospital, Mysore. Results: The incidence of tinea capitis among the total outpatients was 4.27%. The most common age group affected was 6-10 years. A male to female ratio was 1.7:1. The most common clinical type was grey patch type (61%) followed by black dot type (18%), seborrhoeic type (13%) and kerion (8%). KOH was positive in 85% cases and culture was positive in 43% of the cases. The organisms isolated were Microsporum gypseum in 19 cases (44.1%), Trichophyton violaceum in 17 cases (39.53%), Trichophyton rubrum in 5 cases (11.6%), Microsporum audouinii and Trichophyton tonsurans one case each. Conclusion: Tinea capitis is most commonly caused by Microsporum gypseum in our region. It will be very usefull do a direct microscopic examination and culture on every cases of tinea capitis, so that we can isolate the species and we can identify the any rare organism causing Tinea capitis.