Tinea capitis

Abstract

Introduction: Tinea capitis is the infection of the scalp, produced by a dermatophyte fungus. It is essential to know the epidemiology of the etiological agents in each region. Objectives: To know the epidemiology of tinea capitis in the Hospital Privado Universitario de Córdoba. Determine the clinic of them. Characterize their etiological agents according to the results of the mycological analysis and evaluate the treatments. Materials and methods: The study was descriptive, observational and retrospective. We reviewed 63 medical records of patients aged 0 to 18 years, who were asked for mycological lesions on the scalp, from June 2010 to June 2016. Patients with a clinical diagnosis of tinea capitis, treated with oral antifungals were included for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 21 patients were included. Nineteen patients (90%)were non-inflammatory clinical forms. With reference to cultures, we had 16 positive cultures (76%). Of them, 13 developed Microsporum canis (61.9%), 2 Microsporum gypseum (9.5%), one Trichophyton mentagrophytes (4.8%); the remaining 5 cultures (24%) were negative, but due to the strong clinical suspicion they were treated with oral antifungals. Griseofulvin was indicated in 19 patients (90.48%). Conclusions: The most frequent clinical form was non-inflammatory. Microsporum canis was the most frequent fungus, followed by Microsporum gypseum, which could be marking this, as the emerging etiological agent in our environment. Griseofulvin was the most used antifungal, with good cure rates.