Clinicomycological Profile of Cutaneous Dermatophytosis: A Cross-sectional Study from Western India

Abstract

Introduction: The prevalence of cutaneous mycoses has been on the rise worldwide with an increased incidence of recurrent and recalcitrant infections. This study was conducted to assess the clinical patterns and etiological agents of dermatophytosis, at a tertiary care hospital in western India. Material and Method: One hundred clinically diagnosed cases of dermatophytosis attending the OPD of a tertiary care hospital were included in this cross-sectional study. Thorough history taking and detailed clinical examination were done for each patient. For studying the mycological profile, direct microscopy for fungal elements in KOH and fungal culture on Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) was done for each patient. The growth on SDA plates was further mounted on lactophenol cotton blue mounts for species identification. Results: Our study found a male preponderance, and the majority of infections (36%) were in the 21–30 years age group. The most common clinical pattern was the mixed type of infections followed by T. corporis. Direct microscopy for fungal elements was positive in 71% but the culture positivity was only 35%. The most common species isolated in our study was T. mentagrophytes (62.8%). Conclusion: The present study highlights the bearing of factors like socioeconomic status and occupation on the clinical profile of dermatophytosis and reveals a changing trend in the etiological agent of dermatophyte species in this part of western India.