Fungal skin infections in a paediatric dermatology clinic

A diagnosis of fungal infection was established in 8.6% of patients who attended the dermatology clinic at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital, Colombo over a one year period. Only 4.3% were confirmed in the laboratory. The agreement between clinical and laboratory diagnosis was 96.6% for patients with typical clinical features, but only 26.4% for patients who did not have the classical appearance. Both direct microscopy and culture are required to determine the causative agent, although the majority (92%) of patients could be diagnosed on microscopy alone. Microsporum gypseum was the commonest fungus isolated from children.