A 30-year survey of paediatric tinea capitis in southern Spain

Tinea capitis (TC) is the most common mycological infection in childhood. The epidemiology of TC varies depending on the geographical area and the time of study, and although it is an important public health problem in our area, only a few long-term studies have focused on children.

The aim of this study was to analyse the main epidemiological, clinical and microbiological features of TC in children over 30 years and compare these features with those of other tineas.

We undertook a retrospective study of 818 tineas in children at a referral hospital in southern Spain diagnosed between 1977 and 2006, concentrating on TC.

Of the 444 TC diagnosed, 61.5% were in boys. Most children (66.9%) were aged 4-9 years. Twelve patients were immigrants. Inflammatory clinical forms were present in 18.2% of cases. At the time of diagnosis, 10.4% of the cases had been treated with antifungal agents. The most frequently isolated dermatophyte was Microsporum canis (63.5%).

We report the largest study of TC in Spain. Our results were very similar to those in other national studies, noting a predominance of non-inflammatory cases of TC caused by zoophilic dermatophytes. Although the species of the causal dermatophytes have not varied substantially in this period, the increasing number of immigrants may lead to a change in the aetiology of TC in the future. The number of cases referred to the dermatology department who have already been treated shows a lack of communication between primary care and dermatology.