In vitro antifungal susceptibility of the dermatophytes: a single center study from Eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: A large number of patients applying to the dermatology clinics are affected by fungal diseases, and a significant portion of which are superficial fungal infections. Dermatophyte infections are a notable public health concern and frequently encountered in clinical practice. Dermatophytosis not only compromises the quality of life but also predisposes individuals to various comorbidities due to its role as a gateway for secondary bacterial agents. This study aims to determine the species distribution of dermatophytes prevalent and assess their susceptibility to antifungal drugs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Skin, nail, and hair samples were obtained from patients with a clinical diagnosis of dermatophytosis. Samples were all cultured to isolate and identify the species. In vitro liquid microdilution tests were conducted to assess the susceptibility of the isolated strains against terbinafine, fluconazole, griseofulvin, and butenafine. RESULTS: A total of 353 samples were obtained from the hair, skin, and nail lesions of 326 patients. Dermatophyte was isolated in 71 of the samples (20.1%). The cultured dermatophyte subtypes included Trichophyton rubrum (13.8% in 49 samples), Microsporum audouini (5.7% in 20 samples), and Trichophyton mentagrophytes (0.6% in 2 samples). Antifungal susceptibility testing revealed that terbinafine was the most effective antifungal drug against all dermatophyte species, while fluconazole exhibited the highest resistance. CONCLUSIONS: The most common dermatophytosis agent in our region is T. rubrum. The least antifungal resistance was found against terbinafine. Conducting antifungal susceptibility tests is crucial for selecting effective treatment regimens and early detection of resistance development.

Detection of Alloiococcus otitidis in the nasopharynx and in the outer ear canal.

Alloiococcus otitidis has been recovered from the middle ear of children with otitis media with effusion, but its natural habitat is not known. To determine whether the nasopharynx and the outer ear canals are the natural habitats of A. otitidis, 145 swabs (50, nasopharynx; 95 outer ear canal) collected from 50 children were screened by polymerase chain reaction. A. otitidis DNA was detected in seven (4.8%) of the 145 specimens, of which four were nasopharynx, and three outer ear canal. These results indicate that the nasopharynx and outer ear canal may be the body sites for localization of A. otitidis.

Effect of multiple freezing and thawing of serum on TT virus and hepatitis B virus DNA positivity.

This study was done to determine the effect of freezing and thawing of serum on the stability of TTV and HBV DNA levels. Seven TTV DNA positive samples were randomly selected among the sera having HBV DNA with concentrations ranging from 12 pg/ml to 4162 pg/ml and they were frozen and thawed up to eight times and then analyzed for changes on TTV- and HBV DNA levels. TTV DNA positivity and HBV DNA concentrations were tested by using semi-nested PCR and Digene hybrid capture system, respectively. Seven cycles of freezing and thawing did not significantly change HBV DNA concentrations and TTV DNA positivity in any of the samples tested. After eight cycles, only three samples were tested, and all were positive for HBV DNA, but negative for TTV DNA. Our results show that both TTV- and HBV DNA positives continued until the seventh cycle of freezing and thawing in all samples tested.