BACKGROUND@#Superficial
dermatomycoses are
fungal infections of the
skin ,
hair , or
nails and are most commonly caused by
dermatophytes . Superficial
dermatomycoses are very common
diseases in the field of
dermatology ; however, their
prevalence and clinical characteristics vary with geographical areas and
populations . Moreover, pathogenic species change constantly over
time .@*OBJECTIVE@#This
multicenter study aimed to investigate the epidemiologic and clinical findings of
tinea corporis ,
tinea faciale, and
tinea capitis in
Korea during 2016-2017. In addition, we sought to identify the pathogenic organism causing these three different types of
fungal infections .@*
METHODS @#Total 453
patients from the
dermatology clinics of 13
tertiary hospitals in
Korea were enrolled in this study. Information regarding demographic characteristics, comorbidities,
occupation ,
family history of superficial
dermatomycoses , suspected routes of
infection , and
treatment was collected. Fungal
cultures and molecular analyses were performed for
patients with
tinea corporis ,
tinea faciale, and
tinea capitis .@*RESULTS@#Of the 453
patients , 275 were
men and 178 were
women . With
respect to past
history , 214
patients (53.4%) had at least one
comorbidity .
Tinea corporis (27.3%) was the most common form of superficial
dermatomycosis , followed by
tinea pedis (23.2%) and
tinea unguium (16.6%). Overall, the fungal
culture positivity was 77.8% (126/162).
Trichophyton rubrum was the most common causative organism for
tinea corporis (66.7%, 68/80) and
tinea faciale (43.8%, 14/23), while
Microsporum canis was the most common causative organism for
tinea capitis (36.7%, 11/23).@*CONCLUSION@#
Trichophyton rubrum was consistently the most common causative organism of superficial
dermatomycoses , except for
tinea capitis in
Korea .