Are Psoriatic Nails Predisposed to Fungal Infection? / 대한의진균학회지

BACKGROUND: Onychomycosis is a very common and widespread disorder, however the incidence of onychomycosis in psoriatic patients is not accurately assessed. OBJECTIVE: : The present study was undertaken to evaluate the frequency of fungal infections of the nails changed in the course of psoriasis and to provide an answer whether psoriatic nails are specially predisposed to fungal infections. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 83 psoriatic patients with nail changes participated in the study. Among them there were 25 females and 58 males, aged 18~76 years. 59 patients (71.1%) had psoriasis vulgaris, the remaining ones - 24 subjects (28.9%) suffered from arthropathic psoriasis. In any case of nail abnormalities clinically suspected of fungal infection the further mycological investigations were performed. Fungal infections were finally diagnosed on the base of direct microscopy and positive culture. The Chi2 test and the Mann-Whitney U-test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Positive mycological cultures were obtained from 15 patients (18%). The most commonly isolated fungi were moulds cultured in 6 patients (37%), followed by dermatophytes - 5 patients (31.5%) and yeast-like fungi - also 5 subjects (31.4%). Moulds and yeast-like fungi were found in both fingernails and toenails; all dermatophyte infections were diagnosed on the toenails. Psoriatic patients with fungal nail infections were older than those with negative mycological examination and the duration of psoriasis in this group of patients was also longer. Although the above differences between two studied groups were evident, they did not reach the statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the achieved results it is difficult to assess definitely whether psoriasis is a predisposing factor to the development of fungal infections of the nails.

Tinea Versicolor; A Prospective Survey / 대한의진균학회지

BACKGROUND: Tinea versicolor is regarded as one of the most common dermatoses. It constitutes about 3% of dermatological patients. OBJECTIVE: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the frequency of tinea versicolor among patients with fungal skin infections. Special attention was paid to sex and age distribution, as well as to the associated cutaneous and systemic disorders. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was based on 2665 questionnaires. The clinical diagnosis of tinea versicolor was confirmed by positive direct mycological examination in 10~20% potassium hydroxide solution with addition of dimethyl sulfoxide and by yellow-orange Wood's lamp fluorescence of the lesions. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Tinea versicolor was diagnosed in 325 patients (12.2% of all patients with different fungal skin and nail infections). Female patients constituted 52.3% and males 47.7%. The majority of patients were from the big towns (81.2%), only 4% of patients lived in the rural areas. 45.3% of patients finished secondary school, 23.4% had higher education. The age of patients varied from 10 to 79 years, mean age 36.1 +/- 15.3 years. Tinea versicolor was diagnosed in 45.0% of patients between the age of 16 and 35 years and it was uncommon in children (5.2%). The duration of the disease was 1 week to 23 years, mean 2.5+/-3.5 years. 49.5% of patients were previously treated with different regimens, Other cutaneous abnormalities were found in 20.6% of patients with tinea versicolor. Among them acne (4.9%), seborrheic dermatitis (3,1%) and onychomycosis (3.1%) were the most common ones. 14.5% of tinea versicolor patients suffered from systemic diseases, such as arterial hypertension (4%), thyroid abnormalities (3.1%), coronary insufficiency (2.5%) and diabetes melllitus (1.5%).