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Tinea capitis in the pediatric population: a study from North India
Chander Grover1, Pooja Arora, Vikas Manchanda
1Department of Dermatology, Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya, Geeta Colony, New Delhi, India. chandergroverkubba@rediffmail.com
Insights
Tinea capitis (TC) in North India is most common in children aged 8-10. Clinical and KOH findings showed overlap, with Trichophyton violaceum being the most frequent cause.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology
- Mycology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Tinea capitis (TC) is a prevalent superficial fungal infection primarily affecting children.
- Etiological factors and clinical presentations of TC vary geographically.
- This study investigated TC in pediatric patients at a New Delhi hospital.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize TC patterns in North India.
- To correlate clinical, microscopic, and microbiologic findings.
- To identify prevalent fungal species causing TC in the region.
Main Methods:
- 214 suspected TC patients underwent clinical morphology and KOH examination.
- Fungal cultures were performed for all cases.
- Epidemiological factors and correlations between findings were assessed.
Main Results:
- TC peaked in the 8-10 year age group; non-inflammatory TC was most common (56.5%).
- Endothrix hair invasion (41.5%) was the predominant microscopic pattern.
- Trichophyton violaceum was the most frequently isolated fungal species.
Conclusions:
- Clinical and KOH findings did not exclusively predict the causative fungal species.
- Significant overlap was observed in clinical and microscopic patterns among species.
- Mixed clinical or microscopic patterns were noted, but cultures yielded only one species per specimen.
Background:
Tinea capitis (TC) is a common superficial fungal infection seen predominantly in children. The etiological factors vary from one region to the other. The clinical and microbiological characteristics of the same were studied in patients up to the age of 12 years seen at a pediatric super specialty hospital in New Delhi, India.
Aims:
To delineate the various patterns of TC observed in North India and to assess for any correlation between the clinical, microscopic and microbiologic findings in the patients seen. Also, to identify the common fungal species responsible for producing TC in North India.
Methods:
Clinical morphology and KOH findings were studied in 214 patients with the suspected diagnosis of TC. Fungal culture were also performed for all the cases. An attempt was made to evaluate any correlation among the clinical, microscopic and etiological findings. The epidemiological factors associated with the disease were also assessed.
Results:
TC was found to be most common in the 8-10-year age group, with noninflmmatory TC being the more common type (56.5%). A mixed morphological pattern was recorded in 10% of the cases. Microscopic examination revealed an endothrix pattern of hair invasion to be more common (41.5% cases). Again, 8.8% of the cases showed foci of both endothrix and ectothrix pattern of invasion simultaneously. Trichophyton violaceum was the most common fungal species isolated.
Conclusions:
In the present study, clinical morphology or KOH findings were not found to be clearly or exclusively predictive of the species involved. There was a fair degree of overlap in the clinical or microscopic patterns produced by the fungal species. Mixed patterns were observed both on clinical examination as well as on KOH examination. However, none of the specimens grew more than one fungal species.
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