A Clinical and Mycological Study of Dermatophytoses in Soldiers of Kangwon Province / 대한피부과학회지

BACKGROUND: Dermatophytoses are common disorders. Prevalence of dermatophytoses is not static but dynamic under the influence of various forces such as climate, migration of people and development of prophylaxis and therapy. OBJECTIVE: This study was made in order to investigate the clinical and mycological status of dermatophytoses in soldiers of Kangwon province, such as incidence and monthly distribution of the diseases and a variety of the causative organisms. METHODS: We performed the clinical and mycological study on 177 patients with dermatophytoses which was diagnosed by KOH examination and fungal culture at the outpatient department of dermatology of Chuncheon Armed Forces General Hospital from October, 1997 to September, 1998. RESULTS: The incidence of dermatophytoses was 12.7% of a total of 1393 outpatients. Tinea pedis(47.5%) developed most frequently, followed by tinea cruris(29.9%), tinea manus (10.2%), tinea corporis(5.6%), tinea faciale(3.4%), tinea unguium(2.8%), and tinea capitis(0.6%) in decreasing order. The mean age of the patients was 21.9 years(range, 20-24). The incidence of dermatophytoses by rank was highest in private 1st class group(32.8%), followed by corporal group(28.8%), private group(24.3%), sergeant group(13.6%), and new private group(0.6%) in decreasing order. There were coexisting fungal infections in 27 patients(15.3%), and the case of tinea pedis with tinea unguium was the most common. The positive rate of KOH examination was 96.6% and the positive rate of fungal culture on Sabouraud dextrose agar media with cycloheximide was 66.1%. The most common organism cultured was Trichophyton(T.) rubrum(94.0%), followed by T. mentagrophtes(5.1%) and T. verrucosum(0.9%). CONCLUSION:These results are higher incidence of dermatophytoses than those of previous studies. The incidence of tinea pedis was also higher than the previous studies. These are probably due to tight-fitting army boots in summer and spreading of infection among non-infected soldiers living together. The most common causative organism was T. rubrum.

A Epidemiological Study of Dermatoses in Soldiers of Kangwon Province / 대한피부과학회지

BACKGROUND: The results of epidemiological studies are different from each other by genetics, social circumstances and cultures etc. There are few reports of statistical study about dermatoses in Korean soldiers, especially in Kangwon province. OBJECTIVE: We performed this study to know the profile of the distribution of dermatoses in Korean soldiers in Kangwon province and to compare it with results of other studies. METHODS: From Jan. 1998 to Dec. 1999, the dermatoses of new patients who visited the outpatient department of dermatology in the Chunchon Armed Forces General Hospital are recorded by rank, age and month. They are analyzed by group of disease and disease itself. RESULTS: The total number of outpatients was 2,827. The proportion of new private was 0.9%; private 22.9%; private first class 30.6%; corporal 29.7% and sergeant 15.9%. The age of patients ranges from 18 to 28 years old; 95.5% were between 20 and 23 years old. The seasonal incidence was greatest in summer, and autumn, spring and winter in the right order. The frequent dermatoses were dermatophytosis, contact dermatitis, scabies, ingrowing nail, urticaria, verruca, tinea versicolor, folliculitis, atopic dermatitis, ecthyma, acne, alopecia areata, nummular eczema, corn, cold injury, paronychia, psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis, herpes zoster, pityriasis rosea, and insect bite in the right order, respectively above 1% of total number of outpatients. The frequent groups of dermatoses were eczema, diseases resulted from fungi and yeasts, disorders due to animal parasites, viral dermatoses, dermatoses due to physical agents, bacterial infections, drug eruption, erythema and urticaria, diseases of the hair, diseases of the nails, diseases of the glands, papulosquamous diseases, and pruritus and neurocutaneous dermatoses in the right order. CONCLUSION: The distinct feature of the dermatoses in soldiers of Kangwon province is the fact of high frequency in contact dermatitis, folliculitis, verruca, ingrowing nail, ecthyma, corn, cold injury, and paronychia and low frequency of acne, seborrheic dermatitis, and urticaria. The percentage of dermatoses due to physical agents is relatively high and that of drug eruption, erythema and urticaria is relatively low. The proportion of total infectious diseases is 40.4%.