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Published on: December 31, 2017
Epidemiologic Analysis of Onychomycosis in the San Diego Pediatric Population
Christine R Totri1, Stephanie Feldstein2, Shehla Admani3
1Department of Dermatology, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.
Insights
Onychomycosis (OM) in children is not as rare as previously thought. This study found that Trichophyton rubrum was the most common cause of fungal nail infections in pediatric patients.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology
- Pediatrics
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Onychomycosis (OM) is often considered rare in pediatric populations.
- Limited epidemiologic data exists for childhood OM.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the characteristics of onychomycosis in children.
- To identify common pathogens and diagnostic methods for pediatric OM.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective case series over 3 years (2011-2013).
- Analysis of nearly 400 pediatric patients diagnosed with OM at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego.
- Review of nail culture results.
Main Results:
- 399 pediatric patients (1.1%) were diagnosed with OM.
- Nail cultures were positive in 48% of cases tested.
- Trichophyton rubrum was the most frequent pathogen (91.3% of positive cultures).
Conclusions:
- Pediatric onychomycosis data from this study provides valuable regional insights.
- Highlights common diagnostic approaches and prevalent fungal pathogens in pediatric OM cases.
- Suggests OM may be more common in children than previously reported.
Background:
Onychomycosis (OM) is thought to be a rare disease in children, although there are few epidemiologic studies.
Methods:
This 3-year retrospective case series of nearly 400 children seen at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego (RCHSD) describes the characteristics of OM found in this pediatric population.
Results:
From 2011 to 2013, the Pediatric and Adolescent Dermatology Clinic at RCHSD saw a total of 36,634 unique patients, of whom 433 were unique patients with OM. Thirty-four patients met exclusion criteria, leaving 399 (1.1%) with a diagnosis of OM by a pediatric dermatologist. Nail cultures were obtained in 242 cases (60.7%), 116 (48.0%) of which were positive. Trichophyton rubrum was the most commonly isolated pathogen, responsible for 106 cases (91.3%) of positive cultures in the cohort.
Conclusions:
Our study provides important regional information regarding epidemiologic data in pediatric onychomycosis, highlighting the diagnostic methods most commonly used and the pathogens most frequently encountered in our practice.
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