Tinea capitis in Trinidad.

Characteristics of clinically diagnosed cases of tinea capitis from Trinidad are described. Tinea capitis comprised 29.5% of all dermatophytoses seen at one general hospital out-patient dermatology clinic during a one-year period. Males were more often affected than females and there was a predominance of patients of African descent. Among the dermatophytes cultured Trichophyton tonsurans was the most prevalent (52.9%), followed by Microsporum canis (20.0%) and M. audouinii (18.6%). Less frequent isolates included M. gypseum (1.9%), T. mentagrophytes var granulare (1.4%) and T. rubrum (1.4%).