Clinico-epidemiological study and microbiological correlation of tinea incognito at a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Tinea incognito also known as steroid-modified tinea are dermatophytic infections modified by the use of topical or systemic corticosteroids. Dermatophytic infection being very common and very simple to diagnose, is a diagnostic dilemma due to steroid abuse. Hence making a simple curable infection into a chronic persistent dermatological condition. As a treating doctor it’s important to recognize and educate the patients regarding the tinea infections and steroid abuse. To study the various morphological presentations, epidemiology and etiological agent of tinea incognito. An observational study was performed with 100 cases from 2017 to 2019 in the department of Dermatology & Venerology, SS Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Davangere, Karnataka, India. The baseline data, thorough general physical, local, and systemic examination were done with reference to clinical features of tinea incognito. Skin scraping were collected and subjected to potassium hydroxide (KOH) preparation. The part of the sample was inoculated into Sabouraud’s Dextrose Agar (SDA) media for fungal culture. Later the fungus was identified by standard techniques. The mean age of study population was 32.83 years. The males outnumbered females in our study. Almost 29% cases remain asymptomatic followed by 34% itching and 37% burning sensation. The source of drug responsible for tinea incognito were highly suggested by friends (29%) with the combination use of drugs account for 35% of study population. 77% cases showed erythema followed by 48% of hypopigmentation. The scraping of lesion showed positive KOH mount in 71% and T.mentagrophytes were the most common dermatophyte grown in SDA medium. Misuse of steroid formulations in dermatophytic infections may lead to adverse effect as well as chronicity. Awareness of this problem is needed for prevention of steroid modified dermatophytosis, which is a rising menace.