A 20-year survey of tinea faciei

Tinea faciei is an uncommon dermatophytosis affecting the glabrous skin of the face. Between 1988 and 2007 at the Dermatology Department of Cagliari University, 107 cases of tinea faciei have been diagnosed, involving 72 females and 35 males, aged 2-72 years. Incidence peaks were observed between 6 and 15 years (48.59%) and between 36 and 45 years (17.76%). Males below and females above 15 years of age were the most affected. In 61 patients (57.1%), typical forms of tinea faciei were observed, whereas in 46 (42.9%), atypical forms were observed, mainly mimicking discoid lupus erythematosus (nine cases), and polymorphous light eruption (eight cases). Typical cases were present in younger patients, aged between 2 and 15 years, while atypical forms were distributed in any of the decades, but mostly between 36 and 72 years. Of the 46 cases of atypical presentation, 33 were females. The isolated dermatophytes were Microsporum canis (63 cases), Trichophyton rubrum (24 cases) and T. mentagrophytes var. mentagrophytes (20 cases). Seven males and two females aged 4-10 years were also affected by tinea capitis and eight patients (three males and five females) of various ages by tinea corporis. Eleven patients (two males and nine females) aged >35 years were affected by onychomycosis. All patients recovered after local and/or systemic antifungal therapy, without relapse or side effects.