ABSTRACT
Dermatophytes are common and cause important human fungal infections in many parts of the world, including Lebanon. The prevalence of these fungi, however, tends to vary with time and geographic location. In our region, studies on the prevalence of dermatophytoses and the distribution of the various dermatophyte species involved are rare. In Lebanon, only one study was published on this subject over the last forty years. This study was undertaken to shed light on the types and prevalence of dermatophytes recovered at the American University of Beirut Medical Center [AUBMC], and to compare the findings with those of the only study from the same hospital published in the early 1960s. Records from the clinical microbiology section were reviewed for the patients on whom dermatophyte cultures were requested between 1996 and 2002. All positive cultures were identified and analyzed. Among 1631 submitted specimens for culture [one per patient], 208 [12.7%] yielded 11 species of dermatophytes, dominated by Trichophyton spp. [89.9%], followed by Microsporum spp. [9.1%], Epidermophyton floccosum [0.4%] and Trichosporum beigelii [0.4%]. The male to female ratio was almost 1:1, and the age range was 1 to 77 yrs for both sexes 14% were children [