Clinical and Mycological Profile of Dermatophytosis in a Rural Tertiary Care Hospital, Central India

Dermatophytosis is a superficial fungal infection that has emerged as a significant public health concern. The present study investigated the clinical and mycological characteristics of dermatophytosis from the central India rural tertiary care hospital.

To characterise the clinicomycological profile of dermatophytosis from the tertiary care hospital in central India.

A total of 95 patients with suspected dermatophytosis were enrolled during a period of 1 year and 9 months. Demographic details, clinical history and clinical samples from infected sites (skin, hair and nail) were collected after patient consent. Dermatophytes' growth was identified based on the phenotypic methods.

A total of 95 clinically diagnosed dermatophytosis cases were enrolled, and the most common clinical manifestation was tinea corporis 73.68% (n = 70), followed by tinea cruris 9.47% (n = 9). In addition, 52.63% (n = 50) were females and 47.37% (n = 45) were males. A higher number of cases accounted for chronic dermatophytosis (50.52%), followed by recurrent dermatophytosis (40%). The contact history of animal and soil contact was found to be 11.57% each. Of the 95 samples, dermatophyte growth was observed in 44.21% (n = 42) isolates, where Trichophyton mentagrophytes complex was the predominant organism 33.68% (n = 32), followed by Trichophyton rubrum 9.47% (n = 9) and Trichophyton tonsurans, 1.05% (n = 1).

T. mentagrophyte complex is the predominant dermatophyte in central India. Tinea corporis is a significant clinical finding reported; further, the animal's contact history is an essential risk factor associated with this disease.