INCIDENCE OF TINEA INCOGNITO IN PATIENTS WITH DERMATOPHYTOSIS

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Dermatophytosis is a common supercial fungal infection of the skin.In India there is casual and indiscriminate use of over- the-counter topical medications.Topical steroids are the most widely used agents and inappropriate use of these agents lead to side effects. ToAIM: assess the magnitude of topical corticosteroids use in dermatophytosis by studying the source of medication, demographic variables, and side effects. It is a cross sectional, questionnaire based study carried out in the Department of Dermatology,MATERIALS AND METHODS: Venereology and Leprosy,Saveetha medical college. One hundred patients conrmed to have Tinea incognito were questioned about the duration of illness, the medications used and the side effects observed. An informed consent will be obtained from all the patients and recorded on specialized designed proforma. The study population consisted of 74 males and 26 females.Tinea corporis is the most common patternRESULTS: observed(53%).Clobetasol was the common drug misused and 75% of the study population complained of adverse effects. CONCLUSION: Topical corticosteroids are constantly being used for indications where they shouldn't be used.The increasing threat of OTC(Over the counter) use is evident from this study .Thus better control policies and awareness of side effects is the need of the hour.