Dermatophytosis in Children and Adolescents: Epidemiological, Clinical, and Microbiological Aspects Changing with Age

Abstract

During a four year period, a total of 84 cases of dermatophytosis were seen in patients from 0 to 17 years of age attending our out-patient department. The sex distribution was about equal in preadolescents. Males predominated among adolescents. A peak incidence at early school age was due to cases of tinea capitis, mainly caused by Microsporum canis. A peak among adolescents was due to cases of tinea pedis, mainly caused by Trichophyton rubrum. In general, patients with Trichophyton rubrum infections were older than those with other types of dermatophytosis (p less than 0.05). Dermatophytosis due to Microsporum canis was most frequently seen in January and in September (p less than 0.01). Although onychomycosis due to dermatophytes was a comparatively rare disease, it did occur within all age subgroups. Entities which were very frequent in former times and which have become rare during the last decades, such as tinea capitis due to Trichophyton schönleinii, still contribute to the spectrum of dermatophytosis in childhood.

Dermatophytosis in children and adolescents in Gdansk, Poland

“…In most recent publications M. canis was also the most frequent pathogen responsible for dermatophytosis in children in the district of Poznań 6 . The predominance of this dermatophyte in children is emphasized also by German, 7 Italian 8 and Russian authors 9,10 . The highest incidence of dermatophytosis was observed in children aged 4–7 years.…”

“…In this age group, tinea capitis was the most frequent location, mainly caused by M. canis . This dermatophyte was also the most important pathogen in tinea capitis in Munich, 7 Budapest, 2 London, 11 Gdańsk, 5 Poznań 12 and Wrocław 13 . The clinical presentation of tinea capitis is determined by the pattern of hair invasion by the pathogenic fungus, its source and the host's immunological status.…”

The Impact of Onychomycosis on Quality of Life: A Systematic Review of the Available Literature

“…Our results demonstrate that most measurable QoL outcome measures reported a statistically significant difference in the treatment satisfaction scores between those patients who showed clinical improvement and those who did not. Thus, onychomycosis has the potential to create serious problems that may significantly affect QoL and well-being [19, 20]. These reported symptoms of onychomycosis have the impendence to be seriously distressing and can lead to an impact on functionality and mental health.…”

Surgical treatment of tinea capitis in childhood

“…Tinea capitis is a common fungal scalp infection in prepubertal children with rising incidence worldwide. It is caused by a dermatophytic fungi like certain Trichophyton and Microsporum species 1 . However, the prevalent microorganism responsible for infection can vary from country to country.…”