Eighty-four consecutive cases of tinea faciei in Siena, a retrospective study (1989-2003)

Consecutive cases of tinea faciei diagnosed in Siena between 1989 and 2003 were studied retrospectively for differences in clinical form, demographic data and species of dermatophyte isolated. The series consisted of 84 cases (59 females, 25 males) with a mean age of 27 years. Mean age of females (32.4 years) was significantly greater than that of males (14.2 years). The dermatophytes most frequently isolated were Microsporum canis (38 cases) and Trichophyton rubrum (31 cases). Clinical form was typical of tinea in 54 subjects (64.3%) and was tinea incognito because of inappropriate therapy in the other 30 (35.7%) subjects. The mean age of patients with the typical form (19.2 years) was significantly lower than that of those with tinea incognito (41.1 years). All cases in the age range 6-15 years had typical tinea, whereas the maximum frequency of cases with tinea incognito was 46-50 years. In the group with tinea incognito there was a majority of women and the dermatophytes isolated differed with gender. No such difference was observed in the group with typical tinea.